


Youtubefully Yours

by LethanWolf



Category: Bleach
Genre: 11000 word lemon scene holy shit, Alternate Universe - College/University, Anal, Anxiety, College, Depression, Eventual Fluff, Eventual Happy Ending, Eventual Relationships, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, Family, Fluff, Friendship, Lemon, Loneliness, M/M, Male on Male, Saddness, Sex, Shy Toshiro, Slow Burn, Smut, Social Media, Suspense, University, Yaoi, YouTube, alternative universe, uke toshiro, uke toushirou, who likes who?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-06
Updated: 2017-08-06
Packaged: 2018-12-11 23:01:46
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 109,502
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11724393
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LethanWolf/pseuds/LethanWolf
Summary: A modern day setting where a star and top class youtuber comes to a college where our favourite bleach characters attend. The media department isn't ready for it and Toshiro is swept off his feet into the arms of friendship and care which was something he never thought he'd ever have.{This fic is designed to keep you guessing on who will end up with who...}





	1. Celebrity Arrives

‘Alright everyone? It’s Y-Y-Yukio,’ the usual youtube intro of the blond rung around the cosy bedroom. Toshiro grinned to himself, propping his phone against his pillows and ensuring it was sitting just right before he pulled his covers up over his head as he snuggled down to watch the incredibly attractive blond. On his tiny phone screen was a semi naked attractive 24 year old, at least Toshiro thought he was semi naked. The young 19 year old blushed furiously when he realised he could actually be fully nude but he wouldn’t know because he could only see the top half of the mans’ body. His blond hair stuck out across his left eye revealing only his right which was a beautiful emerald colour, he had smooth skin and muscled looking arms as he chattered on about his day.

Toshiro was in love with him, his name was Yukio and he was a youtuber with over 8 million subscribers. He’d collaborated with some of the most famous stars in the youtube world in terms of vlogging including Tyler Oakley and Grace Helbig with whom he was good friends. Toshiro knew everything about him, had watched every single one of his 500+ videos and had even bought one of his T shirts from his brand merchandise website when he was raising money for charity. Toshiros flatmate Rangiku had teased him for a solid week after he’d bought it, though he’d tried to pan it off saying it was for charity he knew that was just an excuse. He’d bought it because he wanted it and it was now one of his favourite t shirts, even though the smallest size was still far too large for him he wore it to bed and to do housework.

This was how Toshiro spent his free time, when getting ready in the morning or when taking a break at work or at University he’d sit down and watch a vlog or two. Yukio was his favourite however the blond didn’t upload every single day, he only uploaded on a Sunday, Tuesday and Friday. So that left Toshiro with loads of other empty days to fill. He’d become a huge fan of Grace and Tyler because of their involvement in Yukios life and loved spotting the handsome blond in cameo videos they did together.

Why did he love Yukio so much? The blond was a huge source of comfort for Toshiro when he was discovering his own sexuality, Yukio was very gay and open but never put on show to make others _think_ he was gay. It had helped Toshiro to accept himself and despite the fact Yukio had no idea who he was Toshiro felt connected to him because he knew so much about the blond… it was strangely comforting… like a friend. Something Toshiro didn’t have.

He had Rangiku but she was far more of a big sister than a friend. She was such a pain in his arse, that’s why he was hiding under his covers watching this video, so she wouldn’t tease him about how in love with Yukio he was. It wasn’t true… he wasn’t _in love._ It was just a crush, everyone had those for some celebrity right? It wasn’t like… he’d masturbated over him or anything- you know what that was a lie. Toshiro had, there had been a few videos where Yukio would casually film as he was working out and Toshiro couldn’t help himself, he’d slip his phone into his pocket and make his way back to his room, locking his door and getting out the lube. It was just a crush though. It would go away. He was sure of it, he thought to himself as he sat grinning madly at his phone.

‘So big changes are coming,’ the blond drawled in the sexy Californian accent,

‘Catch yah on the flip side Yukies,’ his usual farewell sounded. He called all his fans Yukies and Toshiro was a proud Yukie… just as long as no one asked him. The white haired man reached forward and tapped his phone with a frown, the video had only been around 8 minutes long, he felt cheated. Normally he got around 12 minutes in a Yukio vlog which was why he woke up 15 minutes early in the morning to watch it. Since the vlogger stayed in Northern California he was 8 hours behind and so his videos were often posted through the night for Toshiro. The boy sighed as he picked the device up and slipped out of bed to make a start to his day.

He opened his bedroom door and walked out into the hall and towards Rangikus door which he thudded on loudly.

‘C’mon Ran time to get up,’ he called through the wood listening for any tell tale signs that his friend had heard him. He now refused to enter her room after finding her in a compromising position which had scarred his young mind so badly that he blamed her for making him gay. That was until she reminded him he was born that way.

‘RAN!’ he shouted, losing his patience when he thudded once more and heard a muffled mumble from inside the room.

‘’M up!’ she called back through sleepily and he rolled his eyes making his way to the bathroom. Their apartment was a fair size, it had a lot of space, the hallway was like a giant square easily the same size as a large master bedroom, it had a narrower hall leading off to main door though and an archway leading into the kitchen and living room. It had two large comfortable sized bedrooms and an excessively large bathroom that had both a standalone shower and a bath. It was into this that Toshiro now stepped walking over to the shower and stripping down, he opened the sliding door and stepped in turning the water on hot because the heat helped him to wake up.

‘Toshiro have you seen my Red Bubble hoodie?’ Rangiku called and the younger male hissed at the 25 year old.

‘Ran!’ he called, turning his body around so it was facing the wall and he glared over his shoulder. He could only just make out her blurred form through the steamed up glass. ‘We talked about this, shower time is my time, you can’t come in here.’

‘I’ve seen you naked before-‘

‘Only because you won’t fucking leave me alone-‘

‘Have you seen my hoodie,’

‘It’s hanging up in the living room over the radiator,’ he scowled, this was the only thing about being the person to do the washing, she always bugged him to find out where her stuff was.

‘Thanks Tosh,’ she skipped off and he stood scowling with his back turned for a little while longer until he was sure she was completely gone. Bloody women.

 

* * *

 

Toshiro often cycled to the University, it was about 20 minutes on his bike, though he’d take the bus if weather was terrible and leave his bike either at home or at the University if need be. It was one of few things he did to keep fit though it was far from the high intensity workouts that he knew others did, it was still better than nothing. He chained his ice coloured bike up outside the University and placed a cover over it, he hated when anything on his bike rusted because of the rain and always made sure to keep it in the best shape possible.

‘Bye Hyorinmaru, I’ll see you later,’ he mumbled to the bike as he made his way inside the familiar ancient looking building. His bike was his only friend here, despite now being in his final year he’d not managed to make a single friend, he had several people who hated him though. One was a tall strawberry blond by the name of Ichigo Kurosaki who’d taken to throwing paper balls at the back of his head in one of their classes two years ago. Ichigo was also one of the most popular in their year but he was studying media so they rarely shared classes.

In their 3rd year everyone seemed to have left him alone though perhaps they’d grown up… at least Toshiro hoped so. He was one of few people left studying Audio Production last year and he wasn’t sure if any of the other 2 students would have made it into the fourth year especially since they’d taken to going out clubbing every night with a bunch of the media students.

Toshiro walked into the building and made his way to the media and photography side of the campus. 

‘Toshiro, back again for another year?’ the casual voice of one of the professors hit him and he grinned.

‘Hey professor Ukitake, yeah I’m back did either of the other two survive?’

‘Nope, you’re now our only legacy of the year kiddo,’ the older white haired man sighed deeply and shook his head. ‘Such to be expected of a boy genius though eh?’ the older man clamped his shoulder and grinned broadly down at him. ‘You won’t really have much in the way of classes though, but I’ve put you down for a few one to one sessions with myself to go over what’s expected of you this year in terms of your graded unit and any other support I can offer.’ The older man hummed into a cup of tea as he sipped at it. Toshiro smiled, it was the cup he’d gotten him as a farewell gift at the end of last year, nothing too special just a cup with ‘#1 Teacher’ on it.

‘That sounds great, so all the audio studios will be mine?’

‘You heard it, think there’s another girl taking a side of music this year too so you two might cross paths but other than that- OH! Actually,’ the sudden realisation almost made Toshiro jump. ‘There will be a new class this year, not mandatory but it is encouraged, the University have had a bit of… er… pressure shall we say… put on it about not discussing the importance of internet in media. Since now people can get jobs on the internet and get paid quite a bit, so the class will be shared with the other media and photography students but it’s only going to be once a week.’

‘Alright,’ Toshiro mumbled, he’d hoped to get away from the other media students this year but alas it seemed he wouldn’t.

‘Chin up champ, they’ll be requiring your help this year to collaborate if they want music for their final projects.’ Ukitake winked down at him and Toshiro frowned a little. ‘Try and make some friends, be nice.’

‘Fine,’ he tried not to huff, the media students from last year had included Ichigo and all his minions… there had been times where Toshiro would daydream about what it would be like to be part of their group, being part of the ‘in’ crowed but those fantasies were always short lived because the harsh reality was that none of them liked him or even knew he existed.

‘That’s my boy,’ Ukitake clamped him once more on his shoulder and was just about to shuffle down the corridor when he stopped and turned back around, ‘the class will be between 2pm and 4:30pm today in the auditorium above Photography room 2, Professor Kyoraku will be leading it.’

‘Alright,’ Toshiro smiled, he liked Professor Kyoraku he was always insisting the students call him by his first name Shunsui. Toshiro made his way down the media corridors and towards the stairs, he’d slip up onto the first floor and grab one of the Universities guitars for one of his tracks. He’d been working on this song for the better part of a week now and he would practice on Momo at home but his guitar was far too delicate to survive for long in the Scottish weather on the way to University. He pulled one of the standard guitars off the wall it was nearly as large as he was as he sat himself down to bend over it, checking that it was in tune.

He was sitting tuning it when the door opened and a girl his exact height wandered in, she had shoulder length dark hair and large dark eyes. Toshiro knew her, she was called Rukia and she was one of the returning media students who was part of Ichigos group of friends, she must have been the other student doing a side of music that Professor Ukitake had mentioned.

‘How on earth did you reach that?’ she asked, gesturing to the guitar in his arms before glaring back at the wall where four more were hung out of reach above their heads.

‘Oh, um, I used this chair I stole from next door,’ Toshiro stood up and gestured to it.

‘Can I borrow it?’

‘Sure,’ he put the guitar down and lifted the chair to hand it to her.

‘Thanks,’ she smiled gently at him and his mind went blank. Make a friend Toshiro, it’s not too late it’s never too late in the words of Three Days Grace.

‘Whats-‘

The door banged rudely open and two red heads walked in, one a very natural strawberry blond and the other very clearly dyed crimson. It was Ichigo and Renji and Toshiro instantly sulked back away from them all.

‘Rukia you said you weren’t going to practice until later this afternoon, we need you for our next take,’ Renji mumbled with a large camera slung lazily across his shoulder.

‘Yeah but now we’ve been told we have that class in the late afternoon so I won’t get a chance after lunch.’ The small woman called, sitting her hands on her hips in a perfect impersonation of Molly Weasley as she stood on top of the chair Toshiro had supplied. The white haired man was now attempting to stay as far away from them all as possible in a bid to not be spotted.

‘Yeah but we need you now, if we want to get all this filmed we have to start early remember, we’ve still got Ichigos project to work on and yours and we’ve only got until Christmas.’

‘Fine,’ she snapped and jumped down off the chair picking it up and leading it over towards Toshiro which made the two other men look around.

‘Didn’t even see you there, you’re like a fucking ghost.’ Renji laughed and Toshiro frowned at him before turning to Rukia and thanking her for bringing his chair back. She smiled and turned to leave with her two loud comrades and Toshiro sighed. It seemed all of them had returned for their final year or at least the main cronies had.

 

After that little interruption he was mostly left alone to work, he’d meant to take the guitar down to one of the main audio rooms for recording but he’d found himself distracted after plucking a few strings. A pencil was now tucked neatly behind his right ear and his notepad was nestled on a raised stage to his left as he continued to pluck at the strings, writing down the chords and notes as he went. The tune had just come to him but he wanted to make note of it, he could add lyrics later if he wished to pursue it as an actual song.

The morning slipped away quickly and the only other social interaction he had was from Rangiku who text him to ask how his day back was, ending her message with a flourish of kisses as she always did.

 

 **Toshiro** (12:35pm)

_‘Fine’_

**Rangiku** (12:37pm)

_‘Made any new friends? ;) xxxx’_

**Toshiro** (12:37pm)

_‘Same number as last year’_

**Rangiku** (12:38pm)

_‘Well don’t worry there’s always tomorrow :D xxxx’_

**Toshiro** (12:38pm)

_‘Sure. How’s work?’_

**Rangiku** (12:40pm)

_I have a funny story to tell you about that actually, I’ll tell you tonight when you come home. What time will you be back? Xxxx’_

**Toshiro** (12:41pm)

_‘I have a new class later in the afternoon and it finishes at 4:30 so I’ll probably be home around dinner time.’_

**Rangiku** (12:44pm _)_

_Great! I’ll see you then! :D xxxx’_

He wished he had his friends’ optimism but he didn’t as he locked his phone and put in his pocket, now would be a good time to go for some lunch and he’d probably just head to the class early to secure himself a seat at the back.

He hated the canteen at University, it was always crowded with bodies, alas he had to pass through it to make his way out the back doors towards the streets. Today it seemed to be particularly crowded though and he was sure a bunch of people were gathering at a table in the far corner though he had no idea why, it was too early in the year for people to start trying to drink at University that usually started to happen closer towards the end of the school year in June time.

He was jostled by people as he made his way through the crowed and breathed a sigh of relief once he was actually out of the building. Edinburgh was a beautiful city but sometimes the other Scots could be a little too boisterous for him. Thankful for the fact it wasn’t raining he made his way around a corner towards a street of restaurants and cafes, jumping into subway to pick up a six inch BLT. He wandered down into one of the gardens to sit in the fresh air and devour it. He liked coming here and sitting to people watch, unlike him people rarely came here alone, they either came here with a group or friends… or a date or possible love interest… work colleagues or even a pet. The only people who came through here alone were a few joggers and him. He gazed down at his BLT which he was struggling to eat, he liked coming here to watch people yes but it also reminded him of what he didn’t have. Sometimes he’d sit and watch groups of friends or lovers and late at night before falling asleep picture that it was him they hung around with. It was him that had told the funny joke to make the group of people laugh or him that another person gazed lovingly at, or called to and ran to hug because others were just so happy to see him. He’d never admit it to Rangiku but he was terribly lonely, he had a feeling the girl already knew that, having been with him since he was old enough to walk. He slipped the half eaten BLT into his bag and watched a couple walking down the main path between the two meadows, the girl was snuggling into the mans arm as they walked and he paused to take his arm and wrap it protectively around her, pulling her against his side. She was smiling up at him, and reached up to tuck a strand of hair away from his eye as he grinned down and chattered on about something Toshiro couldn’t hear. They looked happy. Having someone to fuss over must have been nice, someone to gently touch your face, he loved it when Rangiku did that to him but that was different there were different intentions behind the gesture when she did it.

He turned around and spotted another couple lying out in the mild September sun, the tiny girl must have been half the size of her partner and was sprawled on top of his chest, her cheek pressed flushed against it. He was running his hands through her hair and it looked like she was sleeping, if she was sleeping then she was smiling in her sleep. Did people do that when they were with someone they loved? Were they so happy and fulfilled that they smiled even when they weren’t conscious? There was loud laughter from behind him and Toshiro turned around and spotted a group of friends calling out and making fun of the smallest of their group who seemed to have let the ball get outside the circle.

‘C’mon Rory, hurry up you fud,’ one of the taller males laughed and the boy chased after the ball and quickly kicked it back into the group.

‘You know for a short guy you run fast,’ the small male ran back to the group, he was still taller than Toshiro despite looking younger and the taller male who called out to him leaned an arm on his head. The smaller male didn’t even flinch he just grinned up at his tall friend and poked him square in the ribs causing him to hiss and leap away and the group laughed. Toshiro found himself grinning at it, to be the centre of attention of a group that large must have felt nice, to feel so included and not that they were making fun of you.  

‘Sam no, don’t touch that,’ Toshiro turned around to a family that were sat about two metres away from him in the grass. ‘That’s dirty, we don’t eat spiders.’ The mother scowled at her chubby little son who very clearly had just had his nappy changed. His chubby bare legs were on display and his top half was fully clothed, the large nappy provided comfort when he waddled back towards something in the grass and the mother tugged on his shirt causing him to fall onto his backside with a giggle. ‘What on earth am I going to do with you?’ she chuckled as she pulled him up into her arms and hugged him. The two tiny chubby arms were wound around her neck as he tried to grab onto her hair. That was when Toshiro decided to leave he quickly gathered his things up stopping to wipe some of the tears back from his eyes before he quickly scampered back to the University. It wasn’t all bad, he had Rangiku… and he had… he had… well… he had Rangiku and he was lucky to have her, she was the best friend anyone could ever hope to have. Perhaps that was why he loved youtubers so much, they never judged him, they were just always silently there… accepting of him.

He glanced at his watch it was coming up for 13:47pm when he got back inside and he made his way quickly to the auditorium. He was pleased to see he was the first into the classroom if he didn’t include a sleeping Shunsui. The professor was snoring rather loudly, a fashion magazine over his face as he lay back on a chair that was close to tipping over with his feet balanced perfectly on top of his desk. Toshiro marvelled at the sight with a chuckle, it was wonder the older man hadn’t tipped the chair right back and fallen off. Toshiro settled down right at the furthest seat at the back corner and pulled out his notebook and pen, slipping his thick blacked rimmed rectangular glasses onto his face as others started to trickle in. There weren’t many a few photography students sat in the middle on Toshiros left, there were about six of them and then Ichigo, Rukia and Renji walked in and sat down the front directly in line of Toshiro who ducked behind his large notepad book and pushed his glasses further up his face.

Shunsui still hadn’t woken, and the other class mates hadn’t particularly been quiet while walking in. That’s when Professor Ukitake walked in, lifted the magazine off his colleagues face and snapped it loudly onto the desk which startled the other male awake.

‘Present,’ he called and gazed sleepily up at Ukitake. There was a rumour that the two men were actually together but Toshiro wasn’t so sure he just thought they were very good friends. What would he know though? He’d only ever been with one guy – Kusaka and he’d only been in it for the sex. Toshiro must have been his type or something because Kusaka had been well into him in a way no one else ever had which was why Toshiro had kept him around so long. Even though the male wasn’t affectionate it had felt nice to feel wanted, even if it was just for sex.

‘Your guest is waiting outside,’ Ukitake said and Shunsui seemed to stir at this, correcting his chair and standing up so his long floral jacket swept behind him as he went to perch on the desk.

‘Ah yes I forgot I volunteered to take this class,’ Shunsui said and Ukitake rolled his eyes as he exited the room through the door at the bottom.

‘Welcome munchkins, did you all have a good summer?’ he asked and there were gentle murmurs of agreement up and down the room. ‘Well now, this year we’re joined by someone very special, who is going to be helping me lead this class. I think a few of you know him or at least have seen him getting flocked by admirers in the canteen, he’s here on a journey of self discovery but I’ll him properly introduce himself.’ Shunsui stood and held out a hand and Toshiro felt excited murmurs rise in the room, he was curious now as he pushed his glasses further back up his face and peered down.

A short blond boy walked in, grinning from ear to ear, his only visible emerald eye sweeping the room. He was clad in a thick woollen tartan jumper and dark blue jeans, that emerald eye came to rest on Toshiro who ducked behind his notepad. FUCK!!!!!!!!! WHAT!!!!!!!!! _NO_!!!!!!! NO!!! NO! What the hell was he doing here? Toshiro was staring at the lines in his notebook, his heart had exploded in his chest and was now beating manically. This couldn’t be… couldn’t be happening no way. NO! He was in California… Toshiro had just been watching him on his phone that morning, how the hell did he get here so fast?

He peaked out from above his book as the attractive blond was now conversing with Shunsui as the class babbled excitedly. _Of course…_ he probably filmed his videos in advance that would surely be only way he could keep to such a tight schedule of uploads…

‘Well now Yukio, why don’t you tell everyone about yourself.’

‘Sure thing,’ his Californian accent drawled loudly in the room full of Scots and everyone was instantly silent. ‘Well I came here to learn a little bit about my family tree, it extends back to Scotland.’ Toshiro remembered watching that video at his desk in his room, the Draw my Life video where he’d spoken about his grandparents being from Scotland. ‘I also wanted to finish studying media so thought I’d do that while I was here and help out you guys with this class.’

‘Since Yukio already makes a living off of his Youtube channel we thought he could teach you all a thing or two about running your own standalone media business online.’

‘Yeah,’ Yukio was running a hand through the back of his blond tussled hair. ‘I’ll help in anyway I can.’

Toshiros heart was still hammering, Yukio basically led the session, talking about how he first started his channel. Toshiro wasn’t listening he’d heard this story already a million times in the boys videos. His teal eyes were flickering down to the door and he could feel a panic attack coming on, it was coming in waves and he just needed to hang on until the end of class. This couldn’t be happening. This wasn’t real. He couldn’t really be here. Toshiros vision was blurring over and he was sure it was due to the lack of oxygen his body was taking in now, he was about to enter a full scale panic attack. His eyes flickered back to the door and he shoved his glasses up his nose again, his entire face was flushing he knew it and his ears were on fire. He needed to get out. He needed fresh air.

‘So I’ll be with you all for the next year of your studying, I’d like to get to know you all. I had the pleasure of meeting Ichigo, Renji and Rukia at lunch,’ he smirked over to them and Ichigo gave him a little wave from his seat.

The photography students gave him their names and then there was only Toshiro left, but there was no way his voice would work. He was asking the photography students questions and seemed genuinely interested in their answers, learning about the individuals in the room. If Toshiro opened his mouth he would vomit. He was sure of it. He already felt like his bowels were going to let loose all over the seat he was currently sitting on.

‘And finally,’ the sexy Californian man turned his attention to Toshiro at the back of the room and he pushed his glasses up his nose and looked down at his hands which were gripping the fabric of his jeans tightly on his lap.

‘That’s Toshiro Hitsugaya,’ Shunsui answered for him, ‘little genius came up from High school at the tender age of 15 years old.’ He said it with a fatherly affection the same way Ukitake often spoke about him.

‘Can he speak?’ Yukio asked, he hadn’t said it to be rude, it sounded genuinely curious as he glanced back up towards Toshiro but the young prodigy was doing everything in his power not to meet his gaze.

‘Last time I checked yeah,’ Shunsui leaned over and whispered something to Yukio and Toshiro felt his face blush as Yukio smirked at whatever the professor said to him. Yukio turned his gaze back to Toshiro and he quickly looked back down at his hands, he wanted out of this class so badly, he could feel a ringing in his ears. ‘Anyway I think that’s probably enough for today,’ Shunsui said and no sooner had the words left his mouth than Toshiro was shoving stuff in his bag, he hadn’t taken a single note as he darted for the door aware people were watching him as he quickly fled from the room and from the building. The moment he got outside he welcomed the fresh air, though it had started to rain. Normally he’d call Rangiku to come and pick him up and he’d just leave Hyorinmaru under his cover and get a bus in the morning but today he wouldn’t. He hitched his thin jacket up over his shoulders and zipped it quickly readying his bike to ride in the downpour. He needed something… anything to take his mind off his panic attack, he needed to get home.

Yukio. Here. In Edinburgh. At his University. Shit. Fuck. No. How the fuck was he meant to study now?

 


	2. Panic Attack

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We learn the extent of Toshiros loneliness :(

As soon as the front door to the flat was closed he heard Rangiku call out to him from the living room but he didn’t reply he threw his bag down against the wall in the hallway and dove for his bedroom. He was soaking wet from the rain and he tossed his damp jacket down onto the floor as he threw himself onto his bed, his cheeks were flushed and his breathing was now so bad there were blotches in front of his eyes.

‘Toshiro?’ her voice was concerned now as she gently nudged his door open, he turned to her and she knew instantly.

‘Panic or anxiety?’ she asked, he breathed in deeply practically choking on the air and she nodded.

‘Panic, I’ll be right back,’ she quickly scampered off to the kitchen and he heard her run into the bathroom as well. He was sitting on the edge of the bed when she came back, he could barely move his fingers now due to his hyperventilation. She brought a paper bag in and sat down beside him on the bed, she’d made a perfect opening for his mouth as his fingers were now no longer functional. He forced his fingers painfully apart as much as he could to take the bag and place it to his mouth for him to start breathing in and out of and Rangiku took his other hand placing it against her chest. He focused, trying to match her rhythm of breathing as much as he could and after a few moments it got easier.

‘So at work today,’ she smiled, he could see the curiosity in her eyes, she wanted to know what had caused his panic attack but she knew how important it was to distract him from it first. Once they got his breathing under control and his limbs fully functional again they could discuss it. ‘You know Nemu? The stuck up bitch of a model, well remember the other day when I told you that the CEO of Gucci’s son was coming to our shoot here in Scotland?’ He nodded enthusiastically for her to continue. ‘Ha,’ she laughed, ‘well wait until you hear this Tosh, I swear,’ he often liked hearing about her tales of woe at work. She’d studied to be a photographer but dropped out to pursue modelling when she’d been snapped up by an agency. He knew on several occasions she must have been asked to go to London or Paris but she refused to leave him. She always said there was more work for a Scottish model with blue eyes and red hair in Scotland than anywhere else in the world. Though he’d often tell her to go and pursue her passion a huge part of him was scared she would actually go and leave him with no one. Perhaps he was selfish but he needed her. ‘So Nemu and I go to the canteen tent where they’re having this shoot to pick up some food right and she’s complaining that someone should be doing that for her,’ Rangiku rolled her eyes and Toshiro chuckled into the bag. ‘Anyway just outside the tent is this guy he looks rough right, like really rough and Nemu comes out and tries to shoo him away thinking he’s some homeless guy trying to get food from our tent. I tell her to piss off which she just _loves_ and I go and get the guy a cup of coffee and some custard crèmes, anyway guess who he was?’

‘The CEO’s son?’ Toshiro panted, lowering the bag away from his mouth with a large grin.

‘Exactly,’ she threw back her head and laughed hysterically, ‘he was just totally hung over and jet lagged from travel, anyway he fires her from the shoot and now guess who the lead model is?’

‘You?’ he grinned as she nodded and he laughed, ‘Rangiku that’s so cool, see being nice gets you places.’

‘Naturally,’ she winked at him and stood up, ‘come on I’ve run you a bath, if you want some company put your swimming trunks on and I’ll come in and sit with you.’

This is what they did when one of them was usually very ill. They didn’t trust each other to be in the bath by themselves when they were ill so either they’d put on swimming gear so the other could check up on them or they’d leave the bathroom door open so they could call to each other.

Toshiro stood shakily and made his way over to his chest of drawers, his fingers were now working and he pulled out his light blue swimming trunks before making his way to the bathroom. He didn’t lock the door and he clumsily stripped down and slipped into the trunks before climbing into the tub. The bath was exactly what he needed, he found it easier to calm himself when he was submersed in water for some strange reason.

‘Are you decent?’ she knocked gently on the door.

‘Yeah,’ he called back and she walked in with a cushion, tossing it to the floor as she perched herself beside the tub.

‘Are you ready to talk?’ her voice had lowered to a loving and caring tone, her arms were dangling over the tub and her index finger came up to gently stroke his cheek, he leaned into the gesture.

‘Don’t freak out,’ he mumbled and her finger stopped it’s stroking for a moment.

‘Why would I freak out?’ she sounded confused now and he felt a blush creep up his face.

‘So… you know… that youtuber-‘

‘Yukio? The one you’re completely and utterly head over heels-‘

‘Yes, yes, him.’ Toshiro groaned as she chuckled and her finger went back to stroking his cheek.

‘Yeah?’

‘Well… he’s…’ he frowned and closed his eyes.

‘He’s what? Tweeted you again? Because last time he did that you were beside yourself, not having a panic attack… don’t you have that tweet framed somewhere actually-‘

‘Rangiku focus,’

‘Right sorry, you were saying?’

‘He’s… here… in Scotland.’

‘No way,’ her eyes went wide with excitement, ‘is he doing a youtube convention or something?’

‘No… he’s attending my University… he’s… he’s leading one of my classes.’

There was silence that followed these words and her finger had stopped its gentle assault on his face.

‘Well shit.’

‘Yeah,’

‘Holy fucking shit.’

‘Yup.’

‘That’s just… so are you gonna try and get into his pants?’

‘RAN!’ he chocked and spluttered, turning to her with an angry blush, ‘I couldn’t even give him my name and I ran out the class, what the fuck and you think I could-that I’d have the balls to- no way!’

‘C’mon Tosh, how many times have you dreamed about meeting this guy? About being with him? About kissing him?’

‘I have not-‘

‘Oh please, our rooms are right next door to each other, I’ve heard you jerking off and calling out his name-‘

‘Ran!’ he was blushing furiously now and he turned his back to her in the bath the water sloshing over him as he moved. He could hear her laughing hysterically from behind him as she flicked water up his shoulder playfully.

‘Maybe he could be your friend? He’ll need someone to show him around the school.’

‘He’s a famous youtuber, everyone was flocking to him, he doesn’t need me.’

‘Now,’ her angry mother voice was back, ‘he would be the luckiest guy alive to have you and I’d make sure he knew that too.’ It was so hard to stay mad at her she spoke like that.

‘He’s made friends with Ichigo and the others…’

‘That arrogant red head who used to throw things at you in class?’

‘Yeah.’

‘Maybe he doesn’t know how much of an obnoxious prick he is,’ she hissed and Toshiro felt it was safe to turn back around to face her.

‘I don’t want to go up to him gossiping about someone else, I couldn’t even tell him my name.’ Toshiro brought a hand out of the water to gaze at his fingernails and Rangiku instantly took his hand in hers, running her thumb across his hand soothingly.

‘Toshiro, you don’t get it, you’re so sweet and caring, adorable and handsome too, any guy would be lucky to have you.’ Her voice was low, thoughtful and her other hand had gone to his cheek to turn his head to face her.

‘Then why does no one want to be my friend?’ his voice came out in a tiny whisper and he watched her face crumple a little.

‘Because they’re all fucking insane and useless,’ she hissed cupping some water and pouring it over his shoulder. ‘Also you have a resting bitch face.’

‘What?’

‘Your face, when you look normal it looks grumpy.’

‘You just said I was handsome!’

‘Oh you are but you also have a resting bitch face.’

‘It’s my face what am I meant to do?’

‘Try smiling at people, they like it,’ she smiled at him and he scowled at her. They’d been having such a nice one to one until she pointed out the fact that his face scared people off.

 

* * *

 

 

He was lying in bed tossing and turning, Rangiku had gone to bed an hour before, offering to sleep beside him since they both had large lavish double beds. Really Toshiro couldn’t afford much but Rangiku made quite the bit of money doing the modelling. They had a deal, she paid more of the rent and expenses and in return he did all the housework. It was a sweet deal, Toshiro only really had two jobs and they were both inconsistent and didn’t pay very well. On weekends he’d work as a DJ but the work was scarce at this time of the year, it would pick up more come December with Christmas parties but he also worked as a snowboarding instructor though it was a clock your own hours kind of thing, he’d only go to the giant indoor arena when he had someone booked for an hour or two hour slot, or if he wanted to do some freestyle.

He picked up his phone and glanced at the time, it was after 11pm, he realised that he had twitter notifications and his heart thudded when he realised that Yukio had been tweeting all night, he’d set himself up to get a notification each time the blond tweeted. Perhaps he should turn that off. He flicked through the mass of tweets and was also reading some of the random replies.

 

**Yukio @YukioHans 1h**

Guys really important update for you all, live stream coming in less than 2 hours, keep you posted~ x

 

**Yukio @YukioHans 1h**

Gahhh I can’t wait that long, make it an hour ~x

 

**Yukio @YukioHans 58m**

Yes @MatrixManny I am in Scotland ;) how did you know? ~x

 

**Yukio @YukioHans 55m**

The Scots are stunning, I have a natural red head in my class, freckles and all ~x

 

**Yukio @YukioHans 50m**

@TylerOakley There are a few guys here, they’d have you swooning ;) ~x

 

**Yukio @YukioHans 45m**

OMG! Chips are on sale all night here… deep fried and everything ~x

 

**Yukio @YukioHans 43m**

I thought it was a myth Scots deep fried everything but it tots isn’t ~x

 

**Yukio @YukioHans 40m**

View from my place ~x

 

Toshiro quickly clicked the link to the image and saw Edinburgh Castle illuminated with beautiful orange lights in the distance, wherever he stayed it looked like it was really high up in a block of flats either that or he was out on top of a roof or something. Toshiro was trying to figure out where he lived, like a stalker, based on the angle of the castle and his knowledge of Edinburgh, it seemed to be the side where the giant hill called Arthurs Seat was located.

A new notification sprung up at the top of his phone and his eyes flickered up to it.

 

**Yukio @YukioHans 1s**

Live Stream is a go! ~x

 

Eagerly Toshiro clicked the link and rolled onto his stomach turning the audio of his phone down as the blurry picture and audio caught up with each other. He ducked his head and felt heat creeping across his face when he saw the topless man sitting in front of his camera. His usual silver stag head hung on the flocked necklace chord around his neck, lazily bouncing across his pecks as he leaned forward to make some slight adjustments to the camera.

‘Haha sorry about this guys,’ he drawled in his usual stunning accent, ‘total PICNIC problems, I should have been prepared.’ Toshiro was not complaining, it was clear he was doing this stream from his laptop atop which he had a camera perched, the room was dark but the glow from the screen as he tilted it down to adjust the camera lit up his chest. Like the rest of the world Toshiro was drinking in the sight, right now all they could see were the two pecks, some toned abs and the rim of a pair of jogging trousers hugging his waist. ‘Think I got it now,’ he mumbled tilting the laptop screen and the camera screen back up and grinning at them all.

‘So guys yeah, I’m in Scotland, I’m going to be here for a year,’ his emerald eye was flicking over to the comment section and Toshiro sighed contently staring at his phone. He hoped someone was recording the stream so he could watch that beginning again. It was nice to fantasise it wasn’t at all like he expected to see it in real life.

‘Missy has just asked if I’ll do a Q and A, sure guys fire questions at me.’ Yukio leaned forward and propped his head on his two hands, leaning his arms on his knees as he now sat cross legged in front of the camera.

‘Chat’s going to fast you guys are crazy,’ he laughed as he clearly went about doing whatever he needed to do to read some of the questions coming through.

‘Why didn’t I tell you? Well I figured it would be a surprise… tah dah!,’ he waved his hands in the air and chuckled, ‘I did mention big changes were coming this was what I was referring too, but c’mon Yukies you guys know I wanted to come here and see if I could trace back my grandparents family.’ His emerald eye ran across the screen again and Toshiro mentally stopped himself from asking a question there was a good chance that he wouldn’t see it anyway.

‘Are there any hot guys? Yes there are, quite a few in the University actually, one in particular has caught my eye,’ he winked at the camera, ‘but I won’t say anything more than that in case he’s watching.’ He didn’t say anything more than that, Toshiro frowned, he was very much convinced it was Ichigo, the strawberry blond was insanely attractive and that’s why he was often the centre of all the attention. The rest of the stream went on and Toshiro found himself yawning as Yukio did, he spoke about his arrival, what the weather was like, what kind of food he’d tried and what had happened to him that day. He did mention Ichigo, Renji and Rukia and it sounded like these were the people he had made friends with. Toshiro tried not to get too upset when he realised that indeed Ichigo must have been the person he was referring too when he said that someone caught his eye.

Soon the blond was practically falling asleep in front of the camera and Toshiro was swooning at how cute he looked half awake and out of it, the blond untangled his legs, one of his bare feet flashing in front of the camera for a moment before he waved them all goodnight.

‘Catch yah on the flip side Yukies!’ he chuckled as the live stream ended and Toshiro tenderly touched a finger to the now blank screen on his phone. How the hell was he meant to make it through this year with this stunning blond there? He’d have to avoid him but how? He was now the only audio student and as per the usual for their projects the media students were often forced to collaborate with the audio students to get copyright free tacks and in return the audio students would collect various clips of where their works were used in actual production for their own graded units. This meant… at some point… very soon their paths would cross and Toshiro would have to just get over his panic. Who knows? Maybe he _could_ befriend the blond. The white haired boy groaned as he rolled over in his bed to fall asleep. If he did befriend him… just how many wet dreams would be the result of that?

 

* * *

 

 

Thankfully Toshiro didn’t need to go to University everyday, he could work on most of his stuff from home, but despite not having any friends at the University he enjoyed the atmosphere of being surrounded by people that made him feel like he had friends. Also the recording rooms made for perfect audio recordings, something he couldn’t replicate in their flat, the reverb was too loud. He often saw the blond walking down the halls flanked by Rukia, Renji, Ichigo and a surplus of fan girls. Whatever corridor they walked down Toshiro would dive – sometimes rather noticeably – out of the way and down another corridor or into a lift or even – one time – into a janitor’s cupboard.

He hadn’t made any headway with making any friends and he’d been back for a couple of weeks now, classes with the blond went the same as before, he’d be the first person in to avoid everyone and the first person to leave the moment the class ended.

He still continued to watch Yukios videos like a dotting fan but he was now calling it research. The blond often spoke about his friends… how he and Ichigo did this or that funny thing Renji did or how Rukia put them all in their place. He’d tweeted pictures of them and put them up on instagram too and it looked like they were having a ball. Toshiro was insanely jealous.

To take his mind off things he’d been working on a track that reminded him similarly of Alex Clare’s song ‘Too Close.’ The base was heavy and loud and it seemed to be all the anger and hurt he held inside himself coming out into a song, all the frustrations that he didn’t have the balls to even make a friend or even say hello to the blond that he’d been crushing on for years.

He was in one of the audio suites where he stood with large headphones on, playing the track. The mixer in here had way more capacity for creativity than his one back home and he had the volume turned up as loud as he could without making his ears bleed. He was enjoying the song standing leaning against the table, his eyes closed as the song hit a massive base drop and he knew he was bobbing his head and swaying as he listened. The sounds were thudding up and down his body the way only audio could, he’d always been addicted to sounds. Sounds were inspirational, they could define a movie moment, they could make you laugh they could make you cry, they could make you _feel._ He could feel right now, the sound of his own bass quaking right down to his shoes as he tapped his foot in time to music, he just needed a bit of fine tuning at the point right after the middle eighth. He opened his eyes to reach for the dials and- _SHIT!_

The headphones were practically ripped off his head and he could feel colour flourish across his cheeks as he stared into the eyes of a rather amused looking Rukia.

‘I just came in to get some cables,’ she was clearly fighting back laughter, he had no idea what he must have been doing, it was far from dancing but he knew he was bobbing in time to the beat. ‘I didn’t mean to disturb you.’

‘I-‘ he could feel the heat creeping across his chest, his neck, his face… everywhere, just everywhere was getting hot, ‘sorry I wasn’t expecting someone to walk in.’

‘What are you apologising for?’ she snorted at him, ‘you should see the state of me when I’m driving and singing to a song, the whole world knows it too.’ She’d dragged a table towards the cupboard and stood up on it to reach the higher up cables. Short people problems, he totally understood her pain as he watched her reach successfully for the cables. ‘Once this car pulled up beside me at the red lights and looked at me like I was a sheep driving a car because I was singing, so you know what I did?’

‘What did you do?’ he was having a conversation! He was actually conversing with someone who wasn’t Rangiku or one of his professors. Okay Toshiro, play it cool.

‘I rolled down my window, turned the music up loud and sung at the top of my voice to them.’ She hopped down from the table and turned to grin at him and he chuckled back.

‘You’re a heap braver than me, I’d have just slouched down in my seat or tried to drive through the red light.’

‘Meh, be unapologetically yourself as long as yourself isn’t an asshole that’s what I always say.’ She thoughtfully leaned against a wall and nodded at the device he was working from. ‘You working on a track then?’

‘Oh, um, it’s nothing really, just something dumb.’

‘I bet it’s really good, you wouldn’t be in 4th year if it wasn’t,’ she smirked at him and he gulped as she walked over holding her hand out for the headphones.

‘Can I listen to it?’

‘Um, it’s not done-‘ she didn’t seem to be asking, apparently it had been a rhetorical question as she took the headphones from his hand and put them on nodding to him. He skipped the track back to the beginning and turned the volume down a notch before pressing play. She listened and he watched with baited breath, his whole potential future friendship with the girl could rest on this one track, maybe she’d ask him for his number or something… people did that right? They asked for facebooks usually… but he didn’t have one… he could make one though. His hands twisted nervously in front of his body as he studied her face, watching as the reactions flickered across it.

‘It’s really fucking good,’ she practically shouted it at him and he winced and chuckled, she obviously had no idea the volume of her own audio levels because she was listening to loud bass. ‘Like _really_ good,’ she shouted again and he smiled at her, Rangiku had said to smile more, so he kept smiling. Wait was he smiling too much? Did he look weird? Should he even be thinking this much about it? He didn’t want to freak her out, he let it slip from his face. He didn’t want her to think he was scowling at her though, so he tried to put a casual smile on his face. Nope that was definitely too much, too much.

‘You alright? Your face is twitching,’ she shouted again and he bit his lower lip. ‘I’m shouting aren’t I?’ he nodded and she pulled the headphones off, they ruffled her hair and fixed it with a flourish looking cool as she did it. No wonder Yukio had chosen to hang out with her and the others, they were some of the coolest people around. ‘You’re insanely talented.’

‘That’s nothing,’ he shrugged it off and looked at his feet.

‘Well, if you say that’s nothing I can’t wait to see what you can do when you actually try, do you have anymore samples of your stuff?’

‘Not with me no,’

‘Well I’ve been working on a song but I’m struggling to come up with a musical base to go with it, it will be for my minor project due in before Christmas, I don’t suppose you’d be up for helping me?’

‘Yes!’ he realised he’d maybe said that a bit too quickly and she laughed, he felt heat creep up his face again. ‘I mean… um… I’d love too.’

‘Well these are the lyrics,’ she reached into a bag that she’d shoved the cables into and pulled out her notepad tearing off the sheet of paper. I’m looking for something mellow, think Prayer in C kind of style, I can do the singing.’ He took the piece of paper from her his heart thudding loudly in his chest.

‘Alright… I um…’ he wanted to ask for her number, just ask her for her number.

‘I can meet you back in here on Thursday?’ she asked and he nodded quickly, ‘alright same time as today back here?’ she checked her phone, this was it, she was going to take his number. Wait did he know his number off by heart? He’d never given it out before, he’d have to take his phone out to make sure he got it right. ‘It’s 4pm, so I’ll see you back here Thursday at 4pm?’

‘Sure, um…’

‘Thanks, I gotta run the others are waiting on me, we’re going out clubbing tonight.’ She darted towards the door and stopped to wave at him before departing.

Oh. She hadn’t wanted his number… he gazed down at the lyrics and felt a little bit of hope rebuild. He’d still get to see her again though, maybe… maybe next time he’d get her number. He folded the lyrics neatly and put them in his shirt pocket, tapping it tenderly against his chest. He’d make this the best damn track he’d ever written.

 

* * *

 

‘Ran!’ he called the moment he got inside, he darted to her room but it was empty before dashing to the living room. The girl was sprawled across their lavish corner couch that she’d insisted on buying despite the fact it barely fit in the room.

‘Oh someone’s excited, did you speak to your blond?’

‘No, but I spoke to Rukia,’ he pulled the lyrics out of his shirt pocket and handed them to her, ‘she wants me to help her work on a track, I’m going to get started right away.’ There was no mistaking the excitement in his voice as he stood there all hopeful as she examined the lyrics before handing them back.

‘Alright,’ she pursed her lips, ‘as long as she isn’t just using you, when are you two meeting?’

‘Oh um, on Thursday at 4pm,’ he frowned, she wasn’t using him because he’d still get to write about this for his own graded unit. ‘At least it’s a step in the right direction,’ he mumbled as he tucked the lyrics back into his pocket feeling a little deflated now.

‘No of course it is you’re right, I’ll be there on Thursday though to pick you up, I’m off anyway, I’ll just monitor.’

‘I don’t need you to monitor me like a child,’ he frowned at her over protectiveness.

‘Says the man who sat behind me in the restaurant in full disguise to make sure that Gin was treating me right?’

‘Hey! That was different, you have a habit of picking the bad boys,’ he scowled at her but she was right the truth was they were both far too protective of each other.

‘Go work on your track,’ she smirked at him lying back down on the couch, ‘let me hear it when you’re done.’

He bounded to his room like an excited teenager and he flopped down on his bed bringing out his synthesiser. It was tiny in comparison to the ones in the University but he would happily create a track on it, transfer it and work it some more once he went back in on Thursday afternoon to apply the finishing touches.

As he worked away on the track Rangiku ordered in food and came to place it on his desk, he ate sporadically, not wanting anything to distract him for too long. He was happy with the songs progress and even Rangiku was blown away by it when she came in to listen, he happily sung the lyrics to her to show where they’d be positioned with the music and his idea for the tempo and beat of it.

‘It’s really good Tosh, I can’t believe you managed to produce this in only a few hours, actually-‘ she smirked at him, ‘I’m not surprised at all.’

‘Thanks,’ he was practically bouncing, this could be his ticket to making a friend and even if he did just end up with one Rukia seemed to be the best one.

That night was tough though as he tried to sleep, tweets and pictures were flying in from Yukio. The blond was out with Rukia, Renji and Ichigo at one of the many gay clubs in Edinburgh and seemed to be dancing up a storm and having a great night. It meant a tough night for Toshiro though because… he knew what people were like when they went out clubbing, he’d gone out a couple of times with Rangiku and she’d always ended up ‘pulling’ someone. Basically kissing them and ending up wrapped around them in a corner somewhere. Toshiro tossed and turned and tried to keep the vivid jealous images from his mind of the blond doing that with someone, it wasn’t like he and Toshiro were together and the small man had no right to feel that way. Though he did and he groaned when he spotted it was 2am and there hadn’t been an update from the blond in about an hour. Had he gone home with someone? Was Rukia and everyone looking after him? He didn’t even know Toshiro… not really and yet the prodigy wanted to go and pick them up and make sure they got home okay but he had no idea where they were. Toshiro didn’t even have a car anyway, it was Rangiku’s but she would let him borrow it from time to time especially when it involved driving her too and from places where she could have a drink.

Toshiro sighed and stared at the ceiling, this was useless he couldn’t be like this all year… he couldn’t be this worried about the blond and thinking about him wrapped around someone else. Yukio had had boyfriends before, he’d dated someone called Shukuro for about 2 years and though Toshiro was a little heartbroken - like the rest of the world - he had felt happy for the boy. Not now… perhaps it was because when he was in California he was very clearly out of reach. Like the thought of riding to the moon it was a nice thought but it was always just a distant dream… but now… now that he was actually in Scotland… attending the same University… it made all his dreams seem more real and so part of him was getting more attached? No, he had to stop that right now. He locked his phone and tossed it across the room onto the soft fabric of his desk chair before turning around in his bed. He’d force himself to go to sleep… he’d count sheep.

He remembered getting to somewhere around 2,374 before he finally fell asleep.


	3. Making Friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's a slow process for a very shy Toshiro...

Thursday arrived and Toshiro was nervous as he got ready in the morning, he’d checked that he had his laptop and USB about 3 times, debating about taking his synthesiser in too just in case something went wrong. He finally decided to just take his laptop and USB in realising he was being ridiculous as he went outside. Hyorinmaru was chained up right outside their block of flats along with loads of other bikes, Toshiro pulled his cover off and stroked the bike lovingly, ensuring that all his bags were secure he mounted the bike and began the usual long cycle to the University.

When he arrived he was chaining his bike up outside when he heard a couple of babbling girls fawning and turned his head in time to see a rather exasperated blond quickly trying to walk towards the university.

‘Would you come and sit beside us at lunch Yukio?’

‘No come and sit beside _us_ at lunch Yukio!’

The blond looked ruffled though he was clearly trying to force a smile onto his face as he picked up his pace. He wore a light blue jacket that looked to be a bit thick for the Scottish summer but of course the Californian boy would have been used to heat three times this hot.

‘I’m already having lunch with someone sorry,’ the Californian accent drawled back as he approached where Toshiro stood. The white hair boy scampered out of the way putting the rows of bikes between himself and the approaching crowed, the movement caught Yukios eye and the blond turned to him, they were drawing level with one another and Toshiro gripped the strap of his laptop bag tightly as he realised something. Yukio was fucking short. He’d always pictured the blond to be a lot taller than him but now that he was seeing him so close, the blond was literally only about half a head taller than him. That beautiful emerald green eye framed by locks of startling blond found Toshiros and he quickly adverted his gaze down to the pavement as he watched them from the corner of his eye disappear inside the building.

He took a deep breath and smiled, he hadn’t actually spoken to him but at least he didn’t wet himself that was something right? He quickly checked to make sure Hyorinmaru was chained properly and he hadn’t done a poor job of it while the blond passed before scampering into the building. He didn’t feel a panic attack or anything coming on, he was doing better in classes with the blond too it was getting a little easier now the initial shock was over.

Toshiro made his way back to the same room he’d arranged to meet Rukia at. There were massive audio mixing tables in it and it looked out onto two professional recording booths. The back wall had a cupboard stocked full of all kinds of audio cables, headphones and jacks, and there was a room just off to the side of that with one of the largest synthesizers that Toshiro had ever had the pleasure of touching.

He worked away happily, fussing over the track and even found himself going into one of the rooms to record his own version of the lyrics. He was really happy with it but as the time drew closer for them to meet butterflies started to form in his stomach and he was feeling restless. As soon as his phone went he practically jumped but smiled once he realised who it was. After arranging to meet Rangiku out the front he quickly scampered from the room leaving some of his things so that if Rukia came around she’d know he’d only nipped out for a moment, perhaps to the bathroom or something?

‘Parking here is a nightmare,’ Rangiku hissed as he led her inside the University and she grinned around at everything, she’d only been here a handful of times. She stopped at the notice board and he doubled back frowning.

‘Come on Ran I don’t want to be late back to the room, what are you-‘

‘I didn’t know they did things like this here,’ she’d pulled something off the notice board and was grinning at him with a twinkle in her eye. He scowled, he didn’t like that twinkle that twinkle usually went along with a mischievous plan. ‘You should take part in this.’ She held a sign up for the yearly talent show and Toshiro blanched and shook his head.

‘No way, no way, absolutely not.’

‘Come on Tosh, think about it, you and Momo would dominate that stage, you’re an amazing singer and song writer you’d have that boy drooling all over you,’ her voice was getting high as she squealed her excitement and they were walking again. Well Toshiro was trying to run and Ran was keeping up with him, brandishing the flyer around.

‘No, it’s not happening Rangiku, you know I don’t perform in front of people.’

‘You sing in front of me all the time.’

‘You walk around me in just your underwear at home does that mean you’d do that on stage?’

‘I kind of do, it’s my job as a model-‘

‘Okay bad example, my answer is still no,’ he hissed as opened the door to the audio room and slipped inside. Rangiku opened her mouth to say something but then just sighed and closed it again, slipping the flyer into her pocket instead and moving to sit on one of the tables at the back.

‘There are chairs you know,’ he pointed to the three chairs that were leaning against the wall when they first walked in.

‘I look better elevated.’

‘Whatever,’ he sighed as he turned back around and glanced at his clock. She should be here by now… unless… unless she came by and thought he wasn’t there and left? His breath caught in his throat when the room door banged open.

‘Sorry I’m a bit late, that one was pissing me off.’

‘Hey it wasn’t my fault I overslept this morning-‘

‘It was 3 in the afternoon Renji for fuck sake,’ the smaller girl walked into the room and walked over to Toshiro crossing her arms and glaring at the tall red haired man when another followed. Renji dumped himself down into one of the seats and sighed loudly, Ichigo followed him and tossed a playful smile across his shoulders and that’s when Toshiros heart really stopped. Into the room walked Yukio. The casual blond had smirked up at Ichigo before looking down at his phone where he typed away, there was what looked like a faint dusting of pink across his cheeks, as if Ichigo had just said something to make him blush prior to them coming into the room. Toshiro gulped and turned to Ran for help, she was grinning from ear to ear and waved a hand for him to continue.

‘Oh, hello,’ Rukia just spotted Ran and her eyes went wide, ‘wait aren’t you that model on the Gucci billboard at the end of Princess Street?’

‘Yeah,’ she chuckled and waved a hello, ‘you must be Rukia,’ Rangikus eyes flickered to Toshiros and back again, ‘Toshiro has been telling me all about this track he’s done for you.’

‘Jesus, I never thought a celebrity would come to listen to it,’ she turned to Toshiro with wide eyes and he was trying to get his mouth to work, his heart was hammering widely in his chest.

‘Yes, well, she’s um… my flatmate.’

‘You two live together?’ Rukia turned between them and there was a chuckle from the corner.

‘So you do speak?’ the Californian accent drawled and Toshiros head snapped around as that wild emerald eye met his.

‘I-um,’ Toshiro shuffled his feet and glanced back at Ran whose eyes were full of gentle encouragement and support, ‘yes.’

‘Shunsui said you were shy,’ so that’s what Shunsui must have whispered to him that first day in class, ‘but I had no idea you were _this_ shy.’ His expression was smug, he looked rather amused if anything and Ichigo scoffed beside him.

‘He’s also a bit of a prick.’

The temperature of the room changed instantly, Rangiku turned to glare at the tall strawberry blond and Toshiro felt his face fall, what had he done to deserve that title?

‘Ignore him,’ Rukia smirked, ‘he’s just mad because he had a ridiculous crush on Toshiro two years ago and Toshiro ignored all his advances.’

‘Advances? You threw stuff at my head!’ Toshiro scowled and glared at Ichigo, what the hell was happening? Ichigo was _blushing._ He was _BLUSHING!_

‘That was a long time ago I’m over it,’ he snapped.

‘Are you? Are you really? Didn’t you just go on and on about how he was the most gorgeous thing to ever walk this earth-‘

‘Rukia!’ Ichigo was flushed the same colour as his hair and glaring at his small friend.

‘B-but…’ Toshiro was in shock, he was not comprehending what was happening, ‘you used to throw paper balls at my head, I thought you hated me,’ his voice was coming out in a whisper now and he felt Rukia eye him from his side.

‘No those paper balls had messages on them, he was trying to give you his number,’ she supplied back and Renji laughed from the corner.

‘Told yah, you should have just spoken to him like a normal human being,’ Renji flicked his friends nose and Ichigo scowled at him.

‘Is that what that paper aeroplane was too?’ Toshiro brought a hand up to rub the spot on his forehead where he remembered the plane crashing into it.

‘Yes,’ Ichigo was glaring at the wall his face still red and everyone in the room seemed ready to pounce on him.

‘He’s still blushing,’ Yukio cooed leaning down closer than Toshiro would have liked to the tall strawberry who was sat in a chair beside Renji. ‘Does someone still have a crush?’

‘I do not, fuck you,’ he snarled back at the blond but he was smirking.

‘You wish,’ Yukio was grinning and their faces were literally inches from each other… were they? Were they flirting? Toshiro felt his heart constrict at the thought.

‘Ichigo used to go on and on about you, he’d never shut up.’ Rukia smirked at Toshiro and the prodigy felt heat creep across his own face.

‘Rukia it was two years ago can we let it go?’

‘See Tosh, Ichigo thought you were a dick and you thought he was one, see how important it is to speak to people?’ Rangiku chuckled leaning towards him and her eyes flashing full of mischief again.

‘Tosh!’ Renji and Rukia both said at the exact same time.

‘That’s an adorable nick name, can I call you it?’ Rukia asked and he scowled at her.

‘I’d rather you didn’t-‘

‘Oh it wasn’t a question Tosh,’ she smirked wider and turned to Rangiku, ‘he’s a bit of a closed book can you tell us anything about him?’

‘He’s very handsome, take it from a model, the body under those clothes looks as good as his face-‘

‘RANGIKU!’ Toshiro spluttered, his cheeks flushing as he glared at her.

‘He’s also very sweet and caring once you get to know him, he’s been working on this track non stop since you set him up with the task determined to make you happy.’

‘Oh really?’ Rukia turned to him with a charming smile, ‘so you’re not the evil monster we all thought you were because you didn’t read into Ichigos terrible courting tactics?’

‘Nah he just has total resting bitch face, he’s adorable otherwise,’ Rangiku supplied and Toshiro could feel all their eyes on him as he quickly turned towards the giant device in the studio and pretended to busy himself.

‘He does sit and scowl a lot,’ Rukia muttered and shook her head, ‘but I saw him smile the other day so I know he can, I’ll try and make him do it more often.’ Toshiros heart was pounding in his chest, was he making friends? Was that what this was? He’d never been in a situation like his before. Okay confidence, he needed to play it cool, people liked cool people they were drawn to them. He lifted the headphones up and slipped them over his ears checking that the track was at the right place before playing with a couple of buttons. He slipped one side of the headphones off so they were coving his left ear but not his right as he turned back to her.

‘Did you want to listen first then- then sing or?’

‘Yeah I’ll listen to it first, try and get a feel for where the singing goes,’ her eyes were full of excitement and Toshiro went to offer her a pair of headphones.

‘Hey, don’t the rest of us get to hear it?’ Rangiku asked loudly and Toshiro scowled.

‘I want to hear it,’ Renji chuckled, ‘I want to hear what a damn prodigy can produce in a couple of days.’

‘I’d like to hear it too,’ the Californian boy added and Toshiro was refusing to meet his gaze because he knew the moment he did he’d be blushing again. Rukia touched a few of the dials on the device to switch the audio output from headphones to the room speakers and Toshiro gulped. He didn’t want to be left staring at the faces of everyone so when he pressed play he simply leaned against the device and closed his eyes folding his arms across his chest.

He was proud of this track, it had a sweet bass line that didn’t dominate where the lyrics would placed, the background was just enough for the song to shine but the lyrics would be what makes it. The middle eighth was where the song got more dramatic and the bass picked up but it didn’t last for more than 40 seconds before it slipped back into its cool mellow rhythm.

‘Holy shit,’ Rukia called when the song was very clearly drawing to a close, ‘holy fucking shit, it’s so fucking good.’ Toshiro opened his eyes and gazed at her, she was staring at him with her mouth open slightly and a look of pure admiration on her face.

‘Thank you,’ he breathed a noticeable sigh of relief and grinned at her.

‘So like…’ Renji leaned over in his chair his eyes wide, ‘you’re gonna help me with my tracks for my project too right?’

‘Sure,’ Toshiro grinned at him and Renji smirked happily.

‘He’ll need your numbers if he’s going to be doing all that hard work, that way you guys can keep in touch,’ Rangiku happily supplied and Renji nodded.

‘Right,’ he dug into his pocket and Toshiro couldn’t believe what was happening, they were all pulling out their phones even… even _Yukio!_

‘Actually, Renji it would be easier for you to just add him to our group on whatsapp he can get all our numbers from there,’ Rukia said putting her phone away.

‘Yeah that’s easier,’ Yukio tucked his phone away too and Toshiro fumbled with his phone as he pulled it out. He didn’t have whatsapp but while he was waiting for Renji to take his number he quickly set it to download.

‘What’s your number champ?’ Renji asked and Toshiro hastily brought it up on screen and read it out loud to him.

‘Got it,’ he chuckled, ‘don’t you know it off by heart?’

‘I bet he’s too used to having to hand out a wrong number to dicks like Ichigo who keep making sexual advances on him.’ Rukia teased and Ichigo scowled at her.

‘Nah I actually… never really give it out so I never learned it off by heart,’ he muttered as he brought whatsapp up and quickly let it load. Instantly a group message came up.

 

 **Renji** (16:33pm)

Added him.

 

Toshiro stared down at the message and smiled to himself, he clicked on Renjis name and it brought up his number he hastily went about adding it to his contacts. He was over the moon, he was trying to stop himself from grinning when he read the title of the group ‘Skrub Chat’ for some reason it had a picture of a chicken at the top left.

‘What’s with the chicken?’ Toshiro asked pointing it out to Rukia who grinned down at the phone.

‘Well we were out the other night and we dared Renji to pull Ichigo but he was too scared so now he has to wear the chicken icon of shame until the next night out.’ She smirked over at Renji who scowled and flipped her off, Toshiro clicked into Renjis name and saw that indeed he had the same profile picture as the chicken in the group chat.

‘Rukia are you not going to sing for us then?’ Ichigo asked stretching his arms out and Toshiro took a moment to glance at Yukio, he had taken his phone back out again and was grinning down at something on his screen. At that moment Toshiros phone went off and the prodigy glanced down at the device.

 

_1 Twitter Notification._

 

Oh shit, he hadn’t turned those off! He glanced up at Yukio who was watching him curiously, then quickly dove into his phones settings. He didn’t get there in time before his phone went off again.

 

_2 Twitter Notifications._

 

He could feel the blond watching him as he hastily tried to load the app, he was only subscribed to Yukio so he had to go to his profile and-

 

_3 Twitter Notifications._

 

Toshiro glanced up and the blond boy was smirking at him.

‘What the hell is going on are you texting him?’ Rukia asked as her eyes flickered between the two, Toshiro could feel heat creeping up his neck.

‘Nothing,’ Yukio smirked and Toshiro was glad he didn’t say anything else. Toshiro tried to play it off and he hastily unsubscribed from the boys twitter account, realising it would have been faster to turn his phone onto silent. He shoved his phone in his pocket and turned to Rukia desperate for a change of topic.

‘Did you want to go into the booth and record the lyrics to this song then?’ he asked and she narrowed her eyes looking between Yukio and Toshiro once more before shrugging and nodding.

‘Sure,’ she made her way into the booth and Toshiro picked up the headphones and put them on.

‘Hey Toshiro,’ the boy turned around and his teal eyes went wide as Yukio smirked at him, he’d just taken a photo on his phone.

‘What the? What? Did you just take a picture of me?’

‘I need one for your profile in my phone so now if you call me this picture will come up,’ he chuckled as he typed away on his device and Toshiro turned to Ran for help. Was this what normal people did? Her eyes were large and curious and she was grinning from ear to ear, that must have meant all of this was okay, this was acceptable? Friends could take pictures of each other… of course they could.

‘I’m ready,’ Rukia gave him thumbs up and he hastily started the track, hitting record.

Rukia was a wonderful singer, her voice was not powerful like Adele nor was it annoying like Rhiannas, it had a rockier feel to it and when she sang she was full of attitude. She reminded him of an early Avril Lavigne but she had a feminine edge to her voice like Kelly Clarkson. She sounded really good and he found himself grinning and bobbing his head as she breathed life into this track. After the second take she came out frowning and Toshiro blinked at her.

‘Rukia you’re talented,’ he smiled at her and she held up her hand for a high five which he took with a chuckle bringing the headphones down around his neck as she stood beside him.

‘I think it would sound better with a male backup,’ she sighed and shook her head.

‘I could do it?’ Ichigo offered with a grin though his voice was dripping with sarcasm.

‘No way, you can’t sing you big lump,’ she frowned at him and he chuckled, ‘you were terrible at that Karaoke bar last year.’

‘We should do that again that was fun,’ Renji mumbled as he leaned his head back on the wall.

‘I want to do karaoke we you all,’ Yukio piped in with a grin leaning down.

‘Toshiro would you be up for coming?’ Rukia asked and he realised he was being invited out with them… he was being invited out with them all.

‘Yeah I would, I won’t be singing though,’ he blushed a little at the thought, ‘but I can be designated driver.’

‘Oh yes! We need one of those,’ Renji smiled and Ichigo sighed.

‘As long as he keeps his hands off me I’m fine with this,’ Ichigo waved a hand dismissively and Toshiro spluttered.

‘Don’t think much of yourself huh berry?’ Renji teased him and Rukia laughed nudging Toshiro with her elbow.

‘You need to tease him back don’t be scared we all wind each other up that’s how we became such good friends.’

‘I think Ichigo just wants Toshiro to come for an alternative motive ain’t that right Ichi?’ Yukio laughed and Ichigo stood up to tower over the smaller man. Even though Yukio was a head shorter than Ichigo he looked stronger, he was built a little broader than the tall lanky looking male and it was quite a square off between the two but once again their faces were a little too close for comfort for Toshiro.

‘Anyway we best be off, oh actually Tosh we’re going to be going out on Saturday night did you wanna come with us? It’s Renjis chance to get rid of the chicken picture to someone else.’ Rukia laughed at Renji and he fisted the air.

‘Yes!’

‘Oh um… well I have to fill in for two hours for a colleague of mine at work-‘

‘Where do you work?’ Ichigo asked.

‘What time?’ Rukia asked and Toshiro smiled at them all.

‘Well, it will be at GHQ, but I’ll be finished at 12am,’ Toshiro smiled and Ichigo laughed.

‘Here I was thinking that you didn’t like me because I was a boy.’

‘Oh um,’ Toshiros eyes flickered back to Rangiku and then back to the others.

‘Oh shit are you two dating?’ Rukia asked glancing between Toshiro and Rangiku who threw her head back and laughed.

‘Oh god no,’ she chuckled, ‘no Ichigo you’re right he’s gay.’

‘I thought so,’ Ichigo sighed and shrugged.

‘How did you know?’ Toshiro was curious now and wanted to keep the chat going, he didn’t want this to end.

‘Well remember when I bumped into you-‘

‘Was that the day you fell in love with him too Ichi-‘

‘And you dropped your phone?’ Ichigo continued as if Rukia hadn’t interrupted at all.

‘Yeah,’ Toshiro remembered that day, it had been just before Ichigo had started throwing stuff at him.

‘Well you had a picture of a topless Orlando Bloom as your background picture so I figured… you were… you know…’ Ichigo shrugged.

‘Oh right,’ Toshiro could feel the heat creeping across his face again.

‘Nice choice,’ Yukio nodded, ‘he is a very sexy man.’

‘Okay so plan, we go get a few drinks then meet Toshiro at GHQ for 12?’ Renji concluded, ‘on Saturday night?’

‘Sounds good, meanwhile I’ll try and find a male vocalist to help me finish this track, thank you so much Tosh. We’ll see you soon?’

‘Sure,’ he nodded his head, ‘I’ll um… I’ll text you.’ He watched them all stand up to leave and Ichigo punched Yukios arm on the way out as the two grinned at each other. Toshiro held his hand up in farewell when the door clicked shut behind them all. There was a beats silence and then jumped into the air and whooped turning to Rangiku who had laughed loudly as she slid off the table, he ran over to her and she engulfed him into her arms, hugging him tightly.

‘Thank you!’ he gasped once she let him go and he staggered slightly.

‘What for?’ she smirked at how insanely happy he was.

‘You prompted them to give me their numbers… thank you!’ he smiled up at her, his arms still wrapped around her waist, he always hugged her from the side to avoid his head being smushed in between her breasts.

‘Yeah but the rest was on you, how about Ichigo right? And here you were thinking this entire time he didn’t like you when he had a total crush.’

‘I know I can’t believe it,’ he was dazed for a moment as he considered this.

‘Let’s go get some celebratory food, dinner is on me,’ she laughed and he nodded his head following her out.

 

* * *

 

 

Rangiku had taken them out for a proper meal and it was nice, they’d picked a restaurant close to home so they could both have a drink and walk back together. It had been one of the best days of Toshiros life as he chatted excitedly about how different University will be now that he had friends.

‘Did you notice Yukio?’

‘What?’ he asked as they walked rather merrily into the flat.

‘Yukio couldn’t take his eyes off you, he was staring at you pretty much the entire time he was there.’

‘No,’ Toshiro flushed slightly, ‘he very clearly has a thing for Ichigo.’

‘I don’t know Tosh,’ Rangiku said playfully with a chuckle, ‘he was smiling at you and everything.’

As they went to sit down on the couch in the living room, Toshiros phone went off and he pulled it out smiling down at the group chat as it flashed up.

 

 **Yukio** (19:23pm)

Guys halp!

 

 **Ichigo** (19:23pm)

What’s up babe?

 

 **Yukio** (19:23pm)

Don’t you ‘babe’ me you twat. This is really serious!

 

 **Renji** (19:23pm)

How serious can it be when you ask for ‘halp’ instead of ‘help’?

 

 **Rukia** (19:24pm)

So serious he had to text a chat full of idiots and me

 

 **Ichigo** (19:24pm)  
You don’t think much of yourself Rukia do you?

 

 **Rukia** (19:24pm)

=P

 

 **Renji** (19:26pm)

What is it Yukio?

 

 **Yukio** (19:27pm)

What should I have for dinner?

 

He shared a picture and Toshiro quickly clicked on it and up popped a picture of two packets of pasta, one was cheese and broccoli and the other was tomato and ham. He must have been grinning like crazy at his screen because Rangiku leaned over and placed her chin on his shoulder to read the messages.

 

 **Rukia** (19:29pm)

Let’s let Tosh decide since he’s stalking this chat and not talking =P

 

 **Renji** (19:29pm)

Yeah Tosh you big stalker

 

 **Ichigo** (19:29pm)

Don’t make us get a restraining order Tosh!

 

‘They can see when you’re online and reading their messages,’ Rangiku pointed out and he frowned and typed quickly into his phone after panic set in, he hadn’t realised that.

 

 **Toshiro** (19:32pm)

Don’t be silly Kurosaki not even a restraining order would stop your love for me. Go for the tomato pasta Yukio, no one likes broccoli.

 

 **Yukio** (19:32pm)

Thanks Tosh =P Life saver. P.s Ichigo got owned.

 

 **Rukia** (19:33pm)

HAHAHA Tosh! X’D

 

 **Ichigo** (19:33pm)

You wish Shiro!

 

 **Rukia** (19:33pm)

New pet name!

 

 **Renji** (19:34pm)

Still better than Strawberry…

 

Toshiro continued to text while he and Rangiku sat on the couch, every now and again she’d glance over his shoulder to see what was being said.

‘I adore whatsapp, it’s how I keep in touch with the girls at work,’ she smiled and leaned forward, ‘that button there sends an audio clip, you press and hold it down and let it go to send it.’ She pressed the button and it flashed up that it was recording.

‘ _Hey guys, its Rangiku, Yukio those packets of pasta are not a good replacement for a decent home cooked meal I hope you know that._ ’ She let it go and Toshiro watched it disappear into the chat. ‘See at the bottom there, the two tickets? When they turn blue that means it’s been seen by everyone and if you press onto it and click the information button it tells you who has seen it and who has played it.’

‘Oh,’ he was grinning watching the names flashing at the top of the chat.

‘Looks like Yukio is sending an audio message back,’ she smiled as it flashed up saying that Yukio was recording. A few moments later and the audio clip was posted from the blond, Toshiro pressed play and Rangiku muted the TV to listen.

‘ _Hey Rangiku, see I moved here without a woman so I don’t get home cooked meals,_ ’ he laughed at the end of it and Rangiku hissed.

‘That cheeky little shit, give me your phone,’ she reached over and he leapt away.

‘No way Ran, what are you going to say to him?’ she was much stronger and had longer arms than Toshiro though and soon the phone had been taken from his fingers.

‘ _Actually Yukio, Toshiro is the one who does the cooking here, he’s brilliant, it has nothing to do with having a uterus_.’ She let go of the message and Toshiro groaned as it disappeared into the chat, he tried to snatch his phone back before Rangiku got into a war with his new friends. She pressed a play button onto another audio clip that had come through from the blond.

‘ _HA!_ ’ he laughed loudly, ‘ _any chance you could let me borrow him for a few nights_?’

Rangikus eyes twinkled with mischief, oh gods, Toshiro felt his stomach fill with butterflies.

‘Rangiku don’t you dare-‘ she pressed down on the record button as he scrambled to try and grab it back but she held him at arms length.

‘ _Yukio you can have him anytime you want, I am sure he’d be more than thrilled to spend a few nights with you_.’

‘RAN!’ Toshiro snarled his face going red as she finally tossed the phone back to him and he groaned as he noticed the message had already been received by everyone who was online.

 

 **Rukia** (19:47pm)

That was not suggestive in the slightest =P

 

 **Renji** (19:49pm)

But can Yukio handle the blizzard?

 

 **Ichigo** (19:49pm)

Can I come?

 

It flashed that Yukio was recording for a long time but nothing was coming through, Toshiro wasn’t sure if he was recording a really long clip or if he was deleting them because he didn’t like what was being said. He clutched his phone to his chest and quickly scampered to his room ignoring the laugh from Rangiku as he locked his bedroom door. He went to throw himself down onto his bed when he realised a bit of scrunched up paper sat on it. It was the flyer for the talent show, apparently it was being held just after they’d return from Christmas break on the evening of Saturday 14th January. He rolled his eyes and put it on top of his desk, he would not be participating, he and Momo were only partners in his flat where no one but Rangiku could hear him singing. He was so lost in his thoughts that he jumped when finally an audio clip was posted. He glanced down at the length and smiled, it wasn’t a long clip which meant that indeed the blond must have been deleting them and trying to redo them.

‘ _I’m not sure how to take that, Toshiro you’re welcome anytime as is Ichigo… I could think of a lot of fun we three could have_.’ He’d said it in a drawling sexy voice and Toshiro gulped, he was now glad he’d come through to his room because he could feel himself blush.

 

 **Toshiro** (19:50pm)

Just ignore Ran, I do.

 

 **Ichigo** (19:51pm)

So no threesome then?

 

 **Toshiro** (19:51pm)  
No, I’m a one guy at a time kind of man.

 

 **Yukio** (19:52pm)

Can’t handle a challenge huh Shiro? :P

 

Toshiro didn’t really know what to type back to that, what did he say? His heart was thudding in his ears if he didn’t say anything he’d look pathetic surely? He had to come up with some kind of banter fast.

 

 **Toshiro** (19:54pm)

I like to focus my attention on one thing at a time, it’s what makes me a prodigy in everything that I do. A third person is just an unnecessary distraction.

 

 **Ichigo** (19:55pm)

Is that your way of saying you’re a prodigy in the bedroom?

 

 **Toshiro** (19:55pm)

If that is the conclusion you wish to draw from those words Kurosaki. 

 

 **Rukia** (19:56pm)

Ichigo was probably asking so he could get more detail for his masturbation scenario later Tosh =P

 

 **Ichigo** (19:56pm)

Rukia shouldn’t you be in the kitchen cooking Yukio a meal?

 

 **Rukia** (19:56pm)

Ichigo I will rip your balls off, cook them and feed them back to you :)

 

Toshiro winced as he read that, the grin slipping off his face for a moment, all the men must have had the same reaction to these words as no one wanted to say anything back to her about it.

 

Eventually Rangiku came in to say goodnight to him and he was still texting his… friends. He wasn’t sure if they were friends or not but it felt like it. He’d certainly not had this much interaction with anyone in a long time.

The group chat had calmed down and he jumped onto twitter to catch up on the tweets from Yukio earlier that day. The boy had apparently been tweeting all night and had even asked the wider twitter community what he should have for dinner. Toshiro scrolled down through time and found the messages from when they were in the recording studio.

 

**Yukio @YukioHans 7h**

Oh my gods, I’m crushing so bad it’s unreal ~x

 

**Yukio @YukioHans 7h**

Why are there so many cute guys around here? ~x

 

**Yukio @YukioHans 7h**

I think I have a stalker :P ~x

 

Toshiro flushed, that must have been when he realised that Toshiro was subscribed to his tweets. He groaned and rolled over in his bed before sighing, his phone went off and he realised it was a private text from Rukia.

 

 **Rukia** (23:45pm)

Sit with us at lunch tomorrow? :) We have lunch in the 2nd Media room to stay away from Yukios fan girls.

 

 **Toshiro** (23:45pm)

Sure sounds good :)

 

He went to bed with a genuine smile on his face, his stomach was doing some kind of acrobatic shit and he felt like he was on a rollercoaster. Tomorrow he was invited to sit and have lunch with other people. What should he eat? What should he wear? He didn’t want to eat anything too smelly or that one of the others might be allergic too, he didn’t want to eat anything too messy either. These thoughts plagued his mind for quite some time before he finally fell asleep in a dishevelled but otherwise ecstatic mess.


	4. The Club

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> DJ TOSH IS SO CUTE!

He was fussing over himself in the mirror, twisting this way and that way and back again. He wasn’t sure if this looked good enough for a night out with his new friends. His shoulders slumped a little as he looked in the mirror, maybe he should stick with the white shirt and black tie? He turned back towards his bed his hand outstretched towards the shirt when he stopped. GHQ had ultraviolet lighting… if he wore his white shirt his entire face, hair and body would glow. If he went with the black shirt it would just be his hair and skin that would likely stand out, he retracted his hand and turned back towards the mirror.

He didn’t want to look like he was on his way to a funeral though so he walked back towards his cupboard and opened it, going through the numerous clothing Rangiku had bought for him over the years. She would buy him something for his birthdays and Christmas and sometimes just when she spotted something she thought he would suit. She’d also bring home free stuff from the various shoots she’d do with big brand names, so now was a perfect chance for him to explore. His eyes lit up when he spotted a beautiful silver tie. He peeled it from the packaging and went about putting it on. It went perfectly with the silver watch on his wrist and the silver flash from his belt buckle. Yes, this would do nicely as he secured the child size belt around his waist and scowled. This was why he never bought himself clothing, the only things that fit him came from the young teenager sections and was meant for children age 13+ so Rangiku would normally just buy him most of his clothing to save him the embarrassment.

There was a gentle knock at his bedroom door as he went about finishing the tie around his neck and lowering his collar back down.

‘Come in,’ he called and the door was opened for his blond friend to stick her head in.

‘Oh my,’ she sighed contently walking in and nodding her approval, ‘you looking so good Toshiro, seriously, you’re going to get chatted up all night.’

‘You think so?’ he was looking down at himself as he asked it and she walked over checking his tie and correcting it a bit around his neck – he hadn’t folded the collar down properly at the side.

‘Yeah, definitely,’ her eyes went from insanely happy and proud to concerned. ‘Now, have you got your keys and phone?’

‘Got them,’ he lightly tapped his over the shoulder bag that also had his USB for his DJ work.

‘Now, call me when you’re finished I will come and pick you up.’

‘I’m not going to wake you up at 3am to come and get me,’ he scowled at her, ‘I’ll get a taxi.’

‘I’m here in case of an emergency, I’ll likely be awake watching reruns of the bachelor anyway, so if anything happens or goes wrong or you cannot get a taxi, please, _please_ call me?’

‘Alright fine,’ he grumbled a little but offered her a smile he did appreciate her looking out for him.

‘Do you have your wallet?’

‘Yes it’s in my bag.’

‘Good now I put two condoms-‘

‘RANGIKU!’

‘In there, just in case,’ she smiled at him and pursed her lips again before reaching over and engulfing him into a hug. ‘You look so grown up.’

‘I am an adult,’ he gasped trying to push away from her as he squirmed to get free, ‘you’re going to crumple my shirt, ger off!’

‘Okay, let’s go,’ she pulled back and they made their way downstairs towards the entry to the block of flats. Everyone had been talking about the night out at lunch the day before. Toshiro had decided to just go in with soup and a sandwich for lunch, just regular potato and leek soup to save the embarrassment of dyed red lips with tomato. Everyone else had practically brought in a feast and then went on to state that’s why Toshiro was so thin, because he barely ate anything and cycled everywhere.

Toshiro had spent the lunch trying to analyse his friends as much as possible, to understand where the boundaries of jokes were, what subjects were avoided or diverted and their eating habits. Renji and Ichigo seemed to eat everything and anything, they’d brought cans of Monster the energy drink in and gone through several together. Then there were the cookies, crisps and tubs of pringles. Rukia ate a bit like Toshiro, she’d brought in a normal sandwich and some fruit though had helped herself to some of Ichigos cookies when he’d offered them around the room. Yukio was strict, he was eating a grilled chicken wrap and had a protein shake and fruit, apparently you had to eat right to bulk up which was what he was instructing Ichigo on.

Toshiro hadn’t realised he was flirting when he started to join in the banter randomly, they’d been teasing Ichigo that he was just a stretched out Toshiro, minus the hair and eyes. Toshiro and Ichigo had both rebutted this statement, Toshiro stating that because he cycled and did snowboarding his ass was much tighter and more toned than Ichigos. The statement had been met with wide eyes from everyone and he’d flushed instantly when he realised what he was insinuating. They’d all told him to turn around and bend over so they could compare Ichigo and Toshiros asses.

Overall it had been a fun and mortifying experience, of course neither Toshiro nor Ichigo had complied and the rest of the day walked around with their backs pretty much pressed against the walls just to avoid anyone comparing the two. He’d told Rangiku about it when he came home and they laughed, he also realised she’d been keeping some stuff back from him about her work colleagues. She chattered on about Isane, Lisa and Nanao and Toshiro realised maybe she hadn’t spoken about her own friends much before to stop him feeling bad that he didn’t have any.

‘Earth to Tosh!’ Rangikus voice pulled him back and he jumped in his seat twisting to look out the window, they were parked on the slanting slope outside the club and he turned to her with a grin.

‘Sorry, I was just thinking about tonight.’

‘Do they know you’re the DJ? Or will they be looking for you at the bar?’

‘Oh fuck, yeah I’ll tell the bar staff to let them know,’ he said as he looked at the time, it was nearly 10pm he’d have to get in fast to set up.

‘Alright have fun, remember call me, promise?’

‘I promise to call you if I cannot get a taxi,’ he leaned over and kissed her cheek as he quickly got out of the car.

He did spot the gentle smile he got from her as he left the car and quickly made his way down the steps towards the club, he didn’t bother to bring a jacket knowing full well how packed these places got and how hot too.

He walked in and waved to the familiar bar staff who were on shift that night. When they saw him two of them cheered.

‘Yeah Toshiro you’re back, we’ve missed you man, no one else does wicked mixes of classic 90’s disco like you do,’ Maki chuckled as he tossed a glass up in the air and caught it effortlessly filling it with beer.

‘Hey Maki, I’m glad,’ Toshiro smiled, ‘I’m only taking over for two hours though I have some friends who might be looking for me later, if they ask for me just tell them I’m in the club alright?’

‘Sure thing sport,’ he nodded and Toshiro quickly ran through the club and was hailed by the other DJ on for the night.

‘Was worried you weren’t going to show up, thanks for this man, no one else can pick them up from the airport and I promise I’ll only be a couple of hours at most.’ Shuhei mumbled to him as he quickly jumped up onto the larger elevated DJ section.

‘No problem,’ Toshiro smiled as he took the white headphones from the man and put them on, Shuhei was straight but he had no personal boundaries as he leaned over Toshiros shoulder to remove his USB he sniffed the smaller male loudly.

‘What the hell are you wearing? It smells really good,’ he mumbled right behind Toshiros head and the prodigy jumped forward into the table with a blush.

‘I don’t know, Rangiku picked it for me, the bottle was black I think.’ He mumbled turning to the taller male the heat now spreading across his torso.

‘Ah alright well if you find out what it is let me know, apparently I need to find something that smells more manly or the Mrs is breaking up with me,’ he made a face and shook his head, ‘anyway I best be off.’

When the tall male left, Toshiro popped his USB in, the dance floor only had a minimum amount of bodies on it and he shook his head, that wouldn’t do. Shuhei loved interacting with the crowed often interrupting songs to speak but Toshiro hated doing that. He liked working his way ahead with the headphones in to make sure his mixes and song blending were flawless before the next song started.

‘Hey Toshiro, you’re back,’ Toshiro looked down at a tall rather attractive male he knew to be regular here.

‘Oh hey,’ he said not even knowing the boys’ name. As if sensing this the boy ran a hand through his hair and replied.

‘It’s Kaien, just call me Kai though,’ he smiled and Toshiro nodded.

‘Did you want something Kai?’

‘A request? Did you bring your 90’s mix? Can I get Stereo Love?’

‘By Edward and Vika? Good choice,’ Toshiro smirked as he stood up straight, having been hunched over so the tall male could shout into his ear from the dance floor.

Toshiro was aware that Kai was watching him for a very long time, even though he had obviously come with company his eyes were for Toshiro. The prodigy had a couple of drinks sent over from the bar, more than he’d ever had before. Each one seemed to be coming from a different man in the room as he drunk them slowly. The large headphones were on and he was bobbing away to the tracks that were coming up, grinning madly when he made a very pleasing slide from one song to another. No party would be complete without Vengaboys right? So he placed a beautiful bass in the background and mixed it with Boom Boom Boom, laughing when the dance floor erupted with cheers and clearly all the 20 something year olds ended up on the dance floor dancing to the ridiculously catchy beat.

He was almost forgetting the time and when he looked down at the screen to see it was coming up for 12am his stomach was tightening, what if they didn’t show up? No… they’d be here. He stopped his eyes from flicking across the dance floor too often as he focused on his next tracks. He had saved the perfect song to be on for if his friends were to come into the club at that exact moment, ‘Children’ by Robert Miles was sounding. It played as loud as he could get the mix with a heavier bass for getting people on the floor but with the undeniably catchy tune playing in the background. His head phones never went directly over his spikes to ruin them, he kept them directed at an angle that meant the arch went around the back of his head. He knew he wore a look of pure concentration on his face, but he couldn’t help the small smiles when he found a track that was perfect. His foot was tapping away to the beat of the music and his head was bobbing when someone came up to the stand.

‘This is from your friends,’ Maki chuckled placing the drink on the table beside his other drinks, and pointing to the back of the club. Toshiro felt his stomach jump into his throat as he glanced over at the back of the room where several hands were raised waving at him and he grinned and held his hand up in return. Shuhei would be due back very shortly anyway.

Shuhei returned the moment the tracks slipped onto 9PM till I come, another classic tune which he’d remixed for the sake of making a more dance floor friendly version. He jumped up onto the stage and stood with Toshiro behind the disco lights looking out to the busy dance floor with a smirk.

‘Thanks, Toshiro I really appreciate it,’ he eyed the drinks on the desk and chuckled, ‘got yourself a few admirers?’

‘Well,’ Toshiro flushed as he took he headphones off and handed them over to the taller male, ‘one is from my friends,’ he nodded to the group at the back of the room where Rukia and Yukio were both stood up on the benches that ran the length of the walls, clearly they were too short to see over the crowed.

‘Ahhh, the blonds cute,’ the male lifted his cap off and placed it back on his head as he looked over. ‘Who’s he?’

‘Just a friend,’ but Toshiro had already flushed as the male scrutinized him.

‘Just a friend huh? You sweet on him?’ he grinned and Toshiro scowled.

‘No!’

‘Alright,’ he grinned knowingly, ‘anyway get out of here, take your drink, do you want these?’ he pointed to the other drinks that had come from some of the random guys in the club, Toshiro had only managed to drink two but another three were sat there.

‘I’m fine with this one,’ he nodded to the Jack Daniel concoction that Rukia and the others had got him.

‘Alright I’ll have them then,’ he laughed and Toshiro nodded jumping down from the stage and making his way through the crowed towards his friends.

‘Toshiro!’ they all called – loudly – the moment he appeared and next thing he knew he was being engulfed into a warm sweaty pile of bodies. His friends were already very clearly wasted, with the exception of Renji who seemed to be steady on his feet.

‘You looked so cute up there,’ Rukia cooed, her arm wrapped around his shoulder as she pointed up to the DJ platform.

‘Thanks?’ he frowned, he didn’t want to look cute he wanted to look hot. Cute was what you called an old woman with bright purple hair. Hot was what you called someone you wanted to take into bed and ravish.

‘We heard everyone is trying to get into your pants.’ Ichigo laughed, ‘when we went to buy your drink the guy at the bar said it was like your 6th or 7th already?’

‘Oh yeah, well that doesn’t normally happen,’ he ducked his head modestly as he held up the drink they’d bought for him. ‘Besides this is my favourite so thank you.’

‘Told you he was a Jack Daniels man,’ the Californian accent drawled and Toshiro turned around to see the blond and fuck did he look good. He was wearing a white shirt that looked soft to the touch, like it wasn’t made with the usual material that shirts were made from but as if it were made from silk. He’d unbuttoned about four buttons – not that Toshiro was counting – and his chest was glistening with sweat, Toshiro didn’t even stop to look at the tight light blue jeans we wore because his eyes were only for that flesh he was showing. The way the skin was pulled tightly over his pecks leading up to a beautiful slender neck-

‘Stop staring,’ Yukio muttered with a smirk and Toshiro quickly met his eyes.

‘I was trying to see if your chest hair was blond or if you shaved,’ he quickly offered hoping they were all too drunk to remember this tomorrow.

‘I could show you if you wanted,’ he reached up as if he were about to unbutton more of his shirt and the others egged him on.

‘If you strip down in here I might not be allowed back in to DJ,’ Toshiro mumbled, pleased that the lights of the club would make it difficult for anyone to see his blush.

‘Is that a roundabout way of saying that you don’t want me to take my shirt off?’

‘Yes’

‘Yes you want me to take it off?’

‘No!’

‘No you don’t want me to not take my shirt off?’

‘What?’ Toshiro was scowling and they were all laughing at him.

‘Let’s grab a table,’ Renji hissed as he pointed towards a group of people abandoning a booth at the back and they quickly scampered over and slid in. Toshiro was on the outside opposite Yukio and facing the door. Yukio drew too much attention usually so they positioned him in a way he’d be looking away from the busiest areas of the club and less people would recognise him. 

‘Can I get rid of this stupid chicken picture now?’ Renji asked the group and they smiled around at each other, Toshiro was curious at this dare game they’d invented.

‘First we need to get a bit more alcohol into Tosh,’ Rukia nodded poking Toshiros cheeks with her finger, ‘you don’t look nearly drunk enough.’

‘Yeah,’ Ichigo chuckled as he stood up and slipped by Yukio who shoved his ass on the way out and Ichigo threw a playful glance back at the blond. Toshiro felt his smile slip from his face and he quickly glanced at his drink. Maybe more alcohol was a good idea, he quickly picked it up and held it as if he were taking a toast and downed it to his friends encouragement when they started chanting ‘chug, chug, chug!’

Ichigo returned with a round of shots which they all took and went back with a new order of drinks and everyone’s collective money. They were all chatting away happily when he returned with the drink order and Toshiro could feel the heat and warmth of the alcohol adorned on his cheeks.

‘Okay please can I get rid of the chicken picture?’ Renji scowled at Rukia.

‘How does this work?’ Toshiro asked glancing around them all.

‘Not really any rules, we just throw out random dares, anyone can throw one out at any point and if the person doesn’t do it them they must have the chicken icon of shame.’ Rukia chuckled and nodded to Ichigo.

‘Ichigo, I dare you to dirty dance with someone,’ she leaned over the table towards the male who hadn’t tried to get back into his seat but who was perched at the corner beside Yukio.

‘Fine, let’s go handsome,’ Ichigo stood and held his hand out for Yukio who grinned up at him and took it. ‘You coming Renji?’ Ichigo asked, looking back at the taller red head.

‘No thanks,’ he shook his head, ‘I don’t dance.’

‘Toshiro?’ Yukio asked holding his hand out for the prodigy but Toshiro was much too shy to dirty dance with another two males so he just shook his head.

‘Maybe later?’ he mumbled to the blond who smiled pleasantly back at him and was led away by a tug of his arm from Ichigo.

Watching them dance was torture. It was torture because Toshiro wanted it to be him. The blond had his back against Ichigo and was grinding up against him, Ichigos hands were wrapped around his waist and dipping into the waistband of his jeans. When the blond turned back around to face Ichigo – both of them grinning manically – he wrapped his arms around his neck and Ichigos hands went straight for his ass. It looked like they were about to kiss and it hurt. Instead though Yukios eyes seemed to flicker back over to the table and he leaned up to whisper in the strawberrys ear. When he did this Ichigos eyes flickered back to the table and he smirked before he met Toshiros eye and the prodigy quickly looked away back towards his drink.

‘They’re enjoying that far too much,’ Rukia muttered and shook her head, ‘here they come back.’

Toshiro kept his eyes on his drink trying to quell the swell of jealousy that was rising in steady waves against his beating heart. He was lucky to even be invited out with them let alone anything else and why would the blond want him anyway? He wasn’t as cool or as fun as Ichigo. He’d watched a couple of videos of their endeavours together which the blond had uploaded to youtube, Ichigo and company appearing in the background for a few random moments throughout the vlogs. Ichigo and he always seemed to get on the best, laughing and joking and acting like inseparable entities of each other. Ichigo was attractive, charming, funny and gorgeous and he was lucky to have the blond. Toshiros hands balled into fists as he forced himself to smile up at the returning couple.

The laughing duo easily slid back into their seats and Ichigo leaned over the table looking intently at Toshiro. The prodigy sat back in his seat trying not to look too intimidated as he watched the thoughts flicker across the taller males face.

‘Toshiro,’ he said with a sly grin, ‘I dare you to pull someone in this club.’ He dared and Toshiros eyes went wide, he glanced around the table at them all.

‘Are you being serious?’ he wasn’t feeling embarrassed the alcohol and crazy jealousy that seemed to be invading his veins was making him numb to it.

‘Totally, pick someone and pull him, _anyone_ you want.’ Toshiro narrowed his eyes, we wasn’t sure why the strawberry had put the emphasis on the word ‘anyone’ but he had. He huffed, he knew who he wanted to kiss and for a second his eyes flickered to Yukio who seemed to sit up a little straighter when he met his eye. He wasn’t going to kiss him though he couldn’t if he and Ichigo were together it might ruin all the friendships he’d just made with this group. He had to pull someone though or risk them thinking he wasn’t cool or have them force the chicken picture on him. He sat up and narrowed his eyes glancing around the club. He spotted Kai standing at the bar with a friend, he was laughing and nodding to what his friend was saying, as if sensing someone was looking at him he turned his head to Toshiro and broke into a wicked grin.

‘Fine,’ Toshiro slid out the booth and walked towards the male. Kai held a hand up looking happy that Toshiro was approaching him but the prodigy never gave him a chance to even open his mouth. He fisted two hands full of the tall males shirt and yank him down to crush their lips together, instantly slipping one of his arms up behind his head to keep him locked in place. Clearly in shock the lips were frozen against his own for a few minutes before he finally responded. Two arms wrapped around Toshiro and the mans lips began to move, opening and closing against his own. His breath tasted nice, he’d clearly been drinking something with mint and vodka and his lips felt cool against Toshiros own as they moved together. The prodigy was not expecting the male to get so involved with the kiss though and let out a small yelp as the man lifted him up into his arms, his large hands coming under Toshiros thighs so the boy was forced to wrap them around the male or risk falling to the floor.

Somewhere in the back of his mind he felt smug, maybe seeing him kiss someone else would have an effect on Yukio? But in order for that to work Yukio would need to have some kind of feelings for him in the first place right? He let go, deciding it was best to ignore everything and focus only on the tall male he was now wrapped around. Their mouths opened and his tongue invaded his mouth, searching for his own which Toshiro met, the wet muscles moving together for a few moments longer and the man moaned into the kiss. Panting they finally broke apart and he gazed down at Toshiro, his eyes dark with lust and half lidded.

‘Fuck, that was… some hell of a kiss, what brought that on?’ he mumbled against his lips.

‘Sorry, this is a bit cruel but my friends dared me to kiss someone.’

‘And you choose me? Well I’m flattered,’ his voice was charming and he smelt nice but he still had Toshiro up in his arms and the prodigy desperately wanted to go back to the floor. He unwrapped his legs as if signalling what he wanted and the male let him slide to the floor, taking his arms away before he ran them across Toshiros ass. At least he was respectful.  

‘Well anyway, I’m sorry,’ Toshiro felt really bad, ‘didn’t want to lose the dare ya know?’

‘I get it, when will you be back DJing again?’ he asked and Toshiro looked around.

‘Um, not sure but should probably be whenever Shuhei needs me to fill back in again?’

‘So very soon?’ Kai chuckled and Toshiro smiled and nodded.

‘Alright well I look forward to seeing you again,’ he mumbled and Toshiro ducked his head and smiled at him before walking back towards his friends. They were all wearing different expressions, Rukia seemed to be cheering and whooping, Renji looked rather impressed, Ichigo was frowning at Yukio before glancing back to Toshiro and the blond wasn’t looking at him at all but had his head turned away poking lazily at digits on his phone.

When Toshiro slid back into his seat he tried to meet the blonds’ eyes to see what his expression was it was hard to tell since he could only see one side of his face but he looked a bit pissed off at something as he stabbed his phone. Judging by Ichigos reaction too perhaps they’d had a bit of a falling out? Good.

‘Rukia,’ Toshiro said, drawing the attention of everyone except Yukio. ‘I dare you to go and find yourself a lovely girl to dance with.’

‘Oh hell yes,’ she laughed as she climbed rather ungracefully over Toshiro to get out the booth. ‘One girl has been eying me up all night,’ she nodded over to a girl with bright pink hair and a couple of tattoos sitting at the bar with a few friends.

‘Aren’t you straight?’ Toshiro asked, he was a bit amused at the girl, having not had a female get that close to him other than Rangiku. Rukias breasts had practically been in his face while she was climbing out.

‘Yes, of course I am but that doesn’t mean I can’t have fun,’ she walked straight over to the girl and dragged her off towards the dance floor. Toshiro smirked as he watched her go she was going to totally nail this dare.

‘Why are you so grumpy Yukio?’ Renji asked leaning across to the blond and Toshiro quickly turned around as the blond scowled at him.

‘I’m not,’ he snapped back but then instantly corrected it, ‘sorry I think I need more alcohol,’ he turned his head in the direction of the bar never once looking at Toshiro. ‘I’ll be right back, you guys want anything?’ he asked but barely waited for a reply from them all before he took off.

‘Yeeesh, what’s up with him?’ Renji asked Ichigo and the strawberry shook his head.

‘I don’t know, it’s private I guess or he’d tell us, maybe someone pissed him off on twitter?’

As Ichigo replied, Toshiro quickly pulled out his phone to check twitter, the blond hadn’t posted anything except one tweet, it had been shared a couple of minutes ago.

 

**Yukio @YukioHans 4m**

:(

 

There were thousands of replies asking him if he was okay and trying to send him funny memes of grumpy cat to cheer him up.

It was strange, Toshiro thought as he glanced up to look at Ichigo who looked rather annoyed and pissed off too. Perhaps they did have some kind of fight, but then why had Renji not noticed if it happened while he was off kissing Kai? Renji seemed just as confused as him as he turned around and met Toshiros eye shrugging his shoulders.

Friendships were a lot of work, it seemed that crushes were too. None of this seemed to be easy and he wished he had some kind of manual that could help him identify all the weird and wacky signals that were coming in. Yukio came back about 8 minutes later after being flocked by a few fan boys at the bar and sat down drinking most of his drink in one go. Ichigo leaned over and whispered something in his ear and the blond seemed to smile a bit.

‘Toshiro did you want to dance now?’ Yukio asked, nodding to the dance floor behind him and Toshiro gulped, his eyes flickering back to Ichigo and back to Yukio.

‘Um, is that okay?’ Toshiro seemed to be asking more Ichigo than Yukio and the strawberry laughed and shoved the blond out his seat.

‘You guys go dance, we’ll still be here when you get back.’ Ichigo encouraged and Toshiro felt a hand enclose around his arm that was on the table. He looked up to see Yukio smiling at him, a smile that could knock the breath out of anyone and he allowed himself to be pulled away from the table and out towards the dance floor. Where the blond touched him he could feel a fire spreading and the blonds hand slipped down to take his, their fingers lacing and Toshiro felt heat pool in his stomach. This shouldn’t make him so damn happy but it did. He was watching the back of the wild blond hair as he was led to the dance floor, he caught Shuhei’s eye who grinned down at him and quickly leapt to his screen.

‘Alright everyone let’s see some couples on the floor,’ his voice came over and Toshiros eyes went wide when the songs slowed and before he knew it, ‘I’ll be’ by Edwin McCain came on. Toshiro instantly flushed, pulling his hand from Yukios as the blond turned to look at him.

‘What’s wrong?’ he asked.

‘What’s wrong?’ Toshiro couldn’t help the heat that was spreading up his neck and across his chest, ‘this is a _slow_ song.’

‘So?’ Yukio shrugged and stepped up beside him, so close that his breath dusted Toshiros face and he had to physically stop himself from leaning in to inhale it. The blond took Toshiros arms and wrapped them around his neck, wrapping his own around his waist. Toshiro was so confused, what did this mean? Were they dancing as friends? Dancing as something more? Why couldn’t he bring himself to even ask? Instead he gulped as they swayed around the dance floor, Yukio very clearly leading the two as Toshiro wasn’t much of a dancer.

‘Relax,’ he breathed with a chuckle over his face, ‘you’re acting like I’m diseased,’ Toshiro let out a chuckle and realised he was very stiff, moving with robotic movements and trying to keep his body away from the male. Nerves were pooling in his stomach along with butterflies when Yukio yanked him forwards so that their bodies were pressed flush together.

‘That’s better,’ Yukio muttered against his lips. Toshiros heart was literally hammering wildly in his chest as he tried to gulp. Yukios lips must have been only inches from his own, so close. He couldn’t believe it, his mind had been wiped clean and all he could think about was the blond pushing him up against the wall and-

No those were the wrong thoughts to be having when he was this close to the other male, the last thing he needed was the blond boy to feel the result of any of his fantasies, especially since he usually starred in them. Toshiro settled on nuzzling his way boldly into his neck, so he was resting his head against his shoulder as they swayed to the cheesy song. He had to hand it to Shuhei, he picked well, the start of the song sung about someone with emerald eyes and the chorus chanted about being the greatest fan of your life something that Toshiro definitely was but he’d never admit too.

He was so desperate for Yukio to whisper into his ear that he wanted him and not Ichigo that he wanted to take him home and make love to him and hold him all night. Of course that would never happen but there was no problem in imagining right?

Toshiro could smell him, he was undeniably delicious, even though he was hot and probably covered in sweat, Toshiro didn’t care. His scent had some kind of lavender scent to it and it washed completely over him. Fuck. He was so fucked. He was completely crushing hard on this stunning, sexy, gorgeous, amazing, funny, happy, brilliant man. He closed his teal eyes tightly trying to force himself to block out the feeling of their hips moving together, or the fact his hands were planted very close to the top of his backside. He needed to try and play it cool so he didn’t end up as a pool of melted mush on the dance floor. The song drew to a close too quickly and he quickly pulled back away from Yukio who was grinning that beautiful dazzling smile at him.

‘Ichigos gone out for fresh air,’ Rukia came over and said to them, her pink haired girl in tow behind her looking very in love with the smaller girl.

‘Oh?’ Yukios face fell and he nudged Toshiro, ‘coming for some fresh air?’

‘Sure?’ Toshiro wasn’t really sure what was going on but he decided to try and stop over thinking it. Over thinking was never your friend, his anxiety had taught him that. The two of them made their way outside. The cold air was welcomed as soon as it hit his face and he realised he must have been covered in sweat too as he loosened the tie around his neck to unbutton a few buttons, welcoming the breeze that travelled down and across his chest.

‘Ichigo you alright?’ Yukio asked concerned and Toshiro turned to watch him place a hand on the taller males shoulder. Ichigo was taking a drag of a cigarette which Toshiro found strange, he’d never seen the taller male ever smoke before. He also didn’t seem like he wanted to answer Yukios question.

‘We should maybe think about heading home, its late now anyway what time is it?’ Yukio asked turning to Toshiro who started and glanced down at his watch.

‘Coming up to 3am,’ he offered back, desperate to ask what was going on but it wasn’t any of his business. If they wanted him to know they’d tell him and Ichigo didn’t seem to be in a sharing mood anyway.

‘Alright, yeah let’s get you home,’ Yukio muttered and glanced around as if looking for a taxi.

‘I’ll call a taxi?’ Toshiro offered, ‘where do you guys all stay anyway?’

‘I stay down beside Arthurs seat,’ Yukio said and he glanced at Ichigo.

‘I stay further up beside the University,’ he muttered and Toshiro nodded.

‘What about Rukia and Renji?’

‘They live down beside me,’ Yukio offered and Toshiro blinked.

‘Oh, are they flat mates or something?’

‘Yeah,’ Ichigo smiled at him taking another drag of the poisonous stick in his fingers, ‘so two taxis, one for me and you Toshiro and another for Yukio, Renji and Rukia.’

‘Alright,’ Toshiro quickly turned away and dialled a local taxi service to send two cabs for them. He gave the cab the names and where to get them and was informed it would be 20 minutes wait. Toshiro walked back towards his friends and saw that Yukio was smiling at a blushing Ichigo and the two stopped talking abruptly when Toshiro arrived before they clearly changed topic.

‘How long will they be?’ Yukio asked as Ichigo finished the cigarette.

‘About 20 minutes,’ Toshiro offered and Yukio nodded.

‘I’ll jump in and let Rukia and Renji know,’ he ducked down the stairs and back into the club and Toshiro stood watching Ichigo who smiled at him.

‘Have you enjoyed yourself?’ the strawberry asked and Toshiro smiled, not wanting to seem ungrateful. ‘Yeah, thank you so much for inviting me, you guys are a lot of fun.’

‘So are you Mr I’ll kiss a stranger,’ he chuckled as he gazed down at him, his head tilting curiously to the side. He opened his mouth and seemed like he was about to ask a question when they heard their friends coming up the stairs.

‘YES!’ Renji boomed, ‘I get rid of the chicken picture.’

‘I am _not_ sleeping with a woman Renji, that’s an unfair dare.’

‘Not unfair, there is no limit to the dares we can ask.’

‘Next time I’ll dare you to sleep with a girl too then.’ She snapped at him and he just waved her off.

‘Whatever just put the damn picture on.’ She continued to argue her case until the taxi’s pulled up and provided some entertainment for the rest of the friends. Toshiro was smiling when he got into the cab with Ichigo, he was curious to see if the strawberry would ask him that question that had been disturbed. When he prattled on about some upcoming football game instead Toshiro decided to raise the topic himself.

‘What was it you wanted to ask me outside the club before Renji and Rukia came out?’

‘Oh, um,’ he was silent for a while rubbing the back of his head. ‘I was just gonna ask you if you got that guys number in the bar.’

‘Who Kai?’

‘So you know him?’

‘Yeah, um, no I never got his number why?’

‘Just wondering,’ Ichigo shrugged his shoulders and turned to glance out the window as they pulled up outside a block of flats where he lived. ‘Here,’ Ichigo paid the cab driver quite a bit in terms of money.

‘Ichigo that’s too much for just your journey,’ Toshiro frowned at him but the strawberry simply winked at him and slipped back out into the night air as the cab took back off. Toshiro was so confused, what the hell was going on? Was Ichigo into him? Was he into Yukio? Did Yukio like him? He liked Yukio? What the hell. His head hurt as he clutched it in between his hands.

‘If you’re going to throw up please ask me to pull over,’ the taxi driver said stiffly but Toshiro shook his head.

‘Just trying to figure shit out,’ he muttered with a hand on his forehead.

‘Yeah well, if you do help me figure my shit out too,’ he laughed and Toshiro laughed back. They chatted gently about the woes of life until the cab pulled up outside the familiar block of flats. He thanked the driver since Ichigos amount have been more than enough to cover his journey and a tip too. The night air was much colder now and Toshiro quickly scampered up the steps to the flats and closed the giant door behind him.

Rangiku had fallen asleep on the couch with the TV on. He didn’t want to disturb her so he flicked the TV off and pulled one of their throws off the back of the couch and put it across her, kissing her forehead before going to get ready for bed. His ears were still pounding from the loud music and even brushing his teeth couldn’t get rid of all the alcohol in his mouth. It made him feel a bit better once he got out of his sweaty clothes and into a pair of actual joggies. He slipped onto his bed with a content sigh. Him and Rangiku both had locks on their doors but they made a strict rule they weren’t allowed to lock them at night just in case there was a fire or something when one of them was sleeping, the locks were for ‘adult wrestling’ only. Though this included solo ‘adult wrestling’ aka masturbation. They had their own code words and phrases for things because it made Toshiro feel less embarrassed when discussing it. He rolled onto his back and stretched out, pulling his phone over to him, there was one message in the group chat.

 

 **Yukio** (04:02am)

Did everyone get home okay?

 

 **Renji** (04:08am)

Me and lumpy did

 

 **Rukia** (04:08am)

>=(

 

Toshiro quickly laughed at the two new texts as they came through and offered his own into the chat spotting that Ichigo was texting too.

 

 **Toshiro** (04:09am)

I did

 

 **Ichigo** (04:10am)

Nah man, ended up in Narnia somewhere, the cab driver had no idea where he was going. Toshiro double check you’re not in middle earth.

 

 **Toshiro** (04:11am)

Now that you mention it, I did see an elf on the way in.

 

 **Rukia** (04:11am)

Stop texting I’m trying to sleep.

 

That ended the chat and Toshiro rolled over with a chuckle, it was nice having people to text right up until he fell asleep, he stuck his phone on charge and snuggled down into his pillow with a content sigh. Even though the nights events had been completely confusing he decided it could wait and he could try and digest it all tomorrow with a sober mind, maybe even Rangiku would be able to explain the bizarre behaviour of his friends to him in the morning. 


	5. German Market

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I love the German Market at Christmas =D

'Alright everyone? it's Y-Y-Yukio!' the usual youtube intro sounded around his kitchen and Toshiro breathed in relief. This was hard to get used too, he’d gotten himself into a rhythm of getting up early so that he could watch Yukios vlogs but now… the blond was on his time so it meant that the videos weren’t uploaded through the night but could be uploaded at any time on the day. Sundays were the worst because through the week he’d learned the vlogs would get uploaded in the evening but on a Sunday they could go up at any time.

Toshiro had spent the Sunday morning cleaning every inch of the kitchen and scrubbing the big pot that he usually used to make soup for Rangiku and himself. He’d already cleaned the bathroom and bleached the shit out of everything and done several of their washing loads. Rangiku had to dive out to a shoot but they’d spoken before she left, he tried to tell her in detail about the night. She didn’t seem to have a clue either and seemed to be just as stumped as Toshiro about the whole ordeal but she did seem to think that the answers lay between Ichigo and Yukio and whatever was going on those two were in the loop.

Toshiro decided perhaps the blonds videos would give him a better understanding so as soon as the video was uploaded and he got a twitter notification – he figured it was safe to turn them on at weekends – he’d instantly clicked the video to play and now had it propped against the teabag tin in the kitchen.

The vlog wasn’t insightful to begin with, Yukio had Toshiro scowling because instead of doing his washings he just went out to buy something new to wear. This was after turning the camera around to the large messy pile of worn clothes that he was determined to not wash. Toshiro had been twitching at the sight, Rangiku often said he was like Monica from Friends and now that he knew the state of the boys apartment he just wanted to go over and help him clean it. The video started to get interesting though when he was dressed and heading out, there wasn’t much time of it left but there were some shots of Yukio with the others prior to meeting Toshiro. They had gone to a small bar that Toshiro didn’t recognise and Yukio had filmed them all doing shots, the scenes were fleeting and then the video changed and suddenly it was dark and Toshiro stopped as he stared at himself on screen. He was on top of the stage looking very thoughtful, large white headphones over his ears and the ultraviolet lights catching his hair and skin in a way that made him look… very attractive. Toshiro blinked, he’d never even seen a picture of himself that he liked before and yet here was this video footage of him bobbing his head and looking not half bad. The picture froze on a close up shot of him and at the left hand side some words pinged on screen.

‘Meet Toshiro’

A comic arrow pointed directly at his head.

‘Shy guy, cute guy.’

He scowled, cute? When would he get passed that? He went to turn the video off thinking that was the end but the last shot was a shirtless Yukio falling into bed and sighing contently, his arm above his head and his eyes glossy and half asleep. Toshiro froze at the sight; it was actually really hot, like he’d just been pinned down on his bed.

‘Damn guys, I’m so hot for one of my friends it’s unreal,’ he chuckled and shook his head with a sigh. ‘Not going to tell you who but let me know in the comments who you think it is, anyway I am off to bed.’ His eyes flashed wickedly at the camera, 'catch yah on the flip side Yukies!' Then the video went blank. Toshiro scrambled for his phone, wet fingers momentarily forgotten as he raced to get to the comment section of the video. Normally he didn’t care about the comments unless he chose to leave one which he rarely did. Now though, he was desperate to see what everyone else was thinking. He quickly scrolled through a couple of the leading comments.

 

**DragPaperCut89**

I’m a solid Yuchigo shipper, you two just seem to get on so well!

_776 likes_

 

**HoldYerMamasHand**

Whoa! Toshiro is a HOTTIE! Please say it’s him Yukio! I call the ship name either Toshkio or Yukishiro what do you guys think?

_556  likes_

**TodayNotTomorrow**

@HoldYerMamasHand Defo Yukishiro, that’s well cuter!

_553 likes_

 

**YukoiLover**

Am I the only one that ships Renkio?

_223 likes_

**XMenRule**

@YukoiLover Yes.

_89 likes_

**DitsyDaisy**

@YukoiLover If you love Yukio so much why have you spelt his name wrong in your username?

_112 likes_

**YukoiLover**

@DitsyDaisy Go fuck yourself.

_111 likes_

 

Toshiro was grinning from ear to ear, they had a ship name; YukiShiro apparently, though it did seem most of the community of Yukies were rooting for Ichigo which made Toshiro frown. Of course they would be rooting for him, Toshiro hadn’t been in any videos yet except this one where he’d only been there for a moment. Ichigo had been in several videos and had been charming and charismatic as fuck in them. Maybe if the community saw how likeable he was they’d shift and lean more towards him… what did it matter anyway it wasn’t like that would impact Yukios decision or anything… would it? Maybe he cared what his fans thought, maybe he liked both Ichigo and Toshiro and was trying to get the fans to help him decide?

Toshiro narrowed his eyes at the like difference between himself and Ichigo. That would have to change.

The rest of the day was spent cleaning the entire flat and starting dinner for when Rangiku came home. Rukia had text him to ask to meet in one of the music rooms early the next day, apparently she wanted to run something by him in terms of another track she was working on. He was intrigued, she was very good at singing and they got on well. The thought of music brought him back to the present and as he was waiting for the sauce to reduce for dinner he walked through to his room and picked Momo off her stand. She was a Taylor GS Mini and yet was still quite big for him, she fit his lap perfectly though and he was so used to the familiar feel of her that he could play her much better than the larger University guitars. Not to mention she was tuned to perfection and kept in the right conditions.

He pulled his notepad out of his bag and turned to the page where he had been writing down a couple of the chords from a couple of months back, he began to pluck them again smiling as he fell into an easy rhythm of the sounds. The track was sweet, though he wanted to pick it up a bit, so he tapped a beat with his foot and copied it with his hand on the guitar. His hands could move so fast that he could pluck strings and rattle his fingers on the guitar for a beat at the same time.

His pencil was perched behind his ear again as he worked, pausing every now and again to stir the sauce for dinner as it reduced and tasting as he went. He was thinking of lyrics, most the songs he’d written came from some kind of emotional connection except for the one song he wrote about how bizarre his dreams were. So it was only natural that the only idea coming to his mind right now was this – possible – love triangle between himself, Ichigo and Yukio.

‘Somebody else,’ he muttered as his fingers drummed the counter and he clicked his tongue turning towards Momo and picking her back up. He plucked a few of the opening notes and sat thoughtful for a while, then plucked them again.

‘Strands of gold that caught my eye, smile contagious coming down from up high. Cheek and wit above all else but he’s busy looking at somebody else.’

Toshiro placed the pencil back behind his ear and gazed out the window, the rain was lashing against the glass and condensation was forming on the inside from the heat of the cooking dinner. Toshiro turned towards the archway to the kitchen and contemplated changing the lyrics a little as he plucked at another few chords.

‘A dangerous game I don’t think I can play, because he’s better than me in so many ways. Compassion and charm above all else but he’s busy looking at somebody else.’ Toshiro was mumbling the lyrics, deciding this would sound better as a chorus and went to put Momo away since dinner was nearly ready and Rangiku would be home soon.

Since he’d spent the day doing so much work he sat and watched rubbish TV with Ran until bedtime, the two of them chatting about nothing in particular except her work friends, turns out they had some dramas of their own. It was nice to know that he wasn’t the only one experiencing drama.

The group chat had been silent and other than the text from Rukia asking him to meet in one of the music rooms early the next morning, Toshiro hadn’t heard from his friends since their early morning texts after the night out.

* * *

 

 

He was rather early, forgetting to change his alarms back from when he’d wake 15 minutes early to watch a Yukio video, so he’d just decided to come into University a bit earlier. He grabbed a breakfast roll as was soon strumming a few beats on one of the University guitars. While he was waiting he started playing an acoustic version of the song ‘Kids’ by MGMT. His foot tapping along he smiled to himself as he began to sing. It was one of Rangikus favourite songs and she’d often ask him to perform it for her.

‘Well shit, you can sing.’

He almost dropped the guitar as he scrambled up from the ground and rounded to see Rukia standing in the door, grin plastered on her face as she watched him. She leaned casually against the open doorframe, he’d never really noticed before but she did dress a bit like a skater chick. Converse on and baggy ripped jeans with an off the shoulder surfer Animal t-shirt, she dropped her bag and jacket on the floor in a messy pile and dragged a chair over to get a guitar off the wall as he tried to think about what to say.

‘I um, I’m not that good.’

‘Oh shut up,’ she laughed as she brought the guitar over to him and she took a chair up close by his side and set the guitar down on her lap. They both must have looked ridiculous given their obvious size difference compared to the massive instruments. He sat down on the chair beside her and she smirked at him.

‘Do you know Ed Sheeran? I think your voice would suit a cover of one of his songs.’ She smiled and he blinked back in surprise.

‘You think I sound like Ed Sheeran?’

‘Yeah a little,’ she nodded to his guitar, ‘play “I see fire” for me please?’

He hesitated and felt heat creep into his face, he didn’t like performing for anyone other than Rangiku, his teal eyes swept across the room to the door.

‘Are… um?’

‘No they’re not going to be in until closer to lunch time, so don’t worry it’s just us,’ she leaned closer to him and her eyes flashed, ‘now play.’

With a sigh, Toshiro obliged and about halfway through the song, she picked up the tune and joined in effortlessly with him the two of them singing together and she backed him up. Their voices were made for each other – or so Toshiro thought, they both had a rather rocky edge to their voices that mixed beautifully as they harmonized together. It was almost effortless how good the two could sound singing together. After a round of random songs including a jazzed up version of pumped up kicks she smiled at him.

‘I can’t believe we never knew you could sing.’

‘Can we keep this between us please? I don’t want the other guys to know…’ he mumbled as he shook his head.

‘Why not? I’m sure they’d just fawn over you.’ She was smirking at him and he frowned, he wanted to ask her if she knew what was going on with the other guys but he wasn’t sure how to phrase it.

‘Rukia… the others… have you…’

‘Yeah they’re acting weird right?’

‘Right?’ he felt relief washing over him as he pulled his chair a little closer to her. She’d set her guitar down and was now sitting cross legged on the chair with her shoes off.

‘Yeah they were fine until Yukio came around, I mean… Ichigo was acting a bit strange towards the end of last year but nothing quite like this year and did you see him smoking outside the club?’

‘Yeah!’

‘Yeah he only ever smokes when he’d had a drink and something is bothering him. I tried asking him about it but he wouldn’t open up to me about it, Renji has been off a bit recently too. The two of them used to be so close until Yukio came on the scene.’ She sat with her eyes closed for a while her face completely thoughtful.

‘What’s Renji been doing that’s different to normal? I don’t know him well enough but he seems the same as he always does?’

‘Well… he and Ichigo used to be inseparable, then just before the end of last year they had a sort of falling out, wasn’t sure what it was over something trivial though both boys are too stubborn to admit they’re wrong. Over the summer we worked through it and when they came back they seemed fine but now Ichigo seems to be spending more time with Yukio going over to his every other weekend and I think Renji is feeling a little left out. They did invite him but he’s been getting progressively moodier.’ She shrugged her shoulders as she looked up and clearly he didn’t compose himself quickly enough.

‘Oh god, I’ve seen that look before,’ she sighed, ‘which is it? Yukio or Ichigo?’

‘What-No! I’ve no idea what you’re talking about- ‘

‘Cut the bullshit Toshiro you looked like a wounded puppy there and I’m guessing it has something to do with me saying that Ichigo goes over every other weekend?’

Even when she said it he felt a stab of pain through his chest… what were they doing staying over at each others?

‘Are they…?’

‘I don’t think so, not yet anyway. I know what Ichigo is like after he’s been laid and trust me he’s not been in a very long time.’

‘Then what do you think they’re doing?’ he was whispering now as he tried to fight back the waves of hurt that were threatening to crash over him.

‘I don’t know, I think they’re just good friends.’ Even as she said it she could see it still wasn’t making him feel any better and she sighed. ‘Look Tosh, don’t over think it, you like one of them? Then as my friend I’ll do everything I can to help you out, starting with finding out what the boys do at Yukios.’

‘If he’s staying over then-‘

‘Whoa, don’t go putting that out there, he’s never stayed over, he just goes over and leaves late.’ Rukia laughed at him, ‘my goodness stop getting so worked up.’

‘Alright,’ he huffed but he couldn’t help the tightening in his gut after finding out the information. To distract him they went about tidying the room and complaining about the amount of dust clumped in the corners of the laminate floored room.

Yukio, Ichigo and Renji showed up together after Ichigo text the group chat asking where they were. They bounded into the room and sat down, the atmosphere lifting instantly and Rukia gave Toshiro a weird look before she jumped into the conversation.

‘So Ichigo you going back over to Yukios this weekend to shag him?’ the effect was instant, Yukio snorted his water that he’d been drinking and began to cough loudly as Renji thumped him on his back and his face turned a startling shade of red.

‘What!’ Ichigo laughed but looked a little uncomfortable, ‘what on earth made you think we were shagging?’

‘Oh come off it, we all saw how you two were at that club,’ she tried to wave it off with a teasing laugh but she was the only one laughing.

‘Actually he’s been helping me film an upcoming series of videos I’d like to start doing,’ Yukio shook his head, ‘we asked Renji to help too but he didn’t seem keen.’ The blond eyed Renji and the taller male sat up a little straighter.

‘Well you said it was to _be_ in the videos too?’ he asked his eyes narrowing.

‘Well yes, it is a bit of both, Ichigo has been appearing in them too.’

‘When will they be posted?’ Toshiro asked, wondering if this was some kind of cover up or if indeed they’d been working on something?

‘Soon,’ Yukio smirked at him, ‘you’re welcome to come and star in them too?’ he offered to Toshiro and Rukia and she smiled and nodded.

‘I’d like to help,’ she offered and glanced at Toshiro. She still wasn’t sure which of the two he liked… or maybe she’d worked it out, the girl did seem very intelligent.

‘If you guys need a hand with tracks or anything sure I can help,’ he shrugged and Yukio grinned at him.

‘Great the more the merrier.’

That last sentence didn’t do anything to quell his nerves, now he just thought they were recruiting for an orgy.

 

* * *

 

 

The week passed in a blur, he saw less of his friends at University as they were having to spend lunches in editing booths and in the library buried up to their faces in paperwork. Toshiro felt bad, he had no problem handling his own workload but theirs was heftier, there was more paperwork involved in shooting and editing a production piece than in laying simple tracks together and typing out a plan for the future. He became lonely at lunch without them so became a personal runner, helping them out with equipment checks and swaps and sitting in the editing booths with them checking their work and giving them encouragement and offering ideas. It had taken him ages to realise he wasn’t imposing on them. The editing booths were small and could only seat two people comfortably, they had no windows either so Toshiro tried to avoid slipping into one with Ichigo or Yukio.

Mostly he spent his time in with Rukia and sometimes Renji who he realised had an extensive music taste as he helped him work on some tracks. Renji came across as a bit of a moody prat but the more time Toshiro spent with him the more he realised the pineapple was a lot like him – misjudged.

‘So it takes hours to render the video?’ Toshiro frowned at the ancient computer as it jumped up with a 3 hour countdown to render Renjis project and the crimson boy laughed.

‘Yup, annoying right?’

‘Most certainly, so what do you do in that time?’

‘Mostly just browse the internet, watch porn all that,’ Renji smirked at him as the colour crept up his neck and he tried his best to ignore it.

‘And you’re gay too right?’

‘Bisexual,’ he shrugged his shoulders, ‘I’ve slept with a girl or two but I tend to find as far as feelings go I am drawn more towards men. What about you?’

‘I’m all about men,’ he laughed shaking his head, ‘I love my roommate Rangiku but like a sister, I just don’t… I can’t think of women in _that_ way.’

‘I get it,’ Renji grinned, ‘guys are way more fun to tease anyway, you can physically see when they want you.’

‘If only it were as easy as that…’ Toshiro mumbled to himself.

The weekend fast approached and the friends had decided to take Yukio to the German Market that happened in Edinburgh every late November. It was on the lead up to Christmas and there would be a large ferris wheel, Ice Rink and loads of places to eat. The Californian boy was so excited he asked everyone if they’d mind him filming the day for a vlog.

Toshiro was apprehensive he knew that Yukio would not be deterred by the popularity votes in the comments sections and he really wasn’t the kind of guy to like being in the limelight so after much contemplation he agreed that he was happy being filmed but gently asked if he could appear in the video less than everyone else.

Toshiro had struggled with what to wear when Rangiku came to save the day, she didn’t _‘dress’_ him as such, she simply helped him decide what to wear by pinning him down and- okay so she did dress him. Toshiro sat scowling as he looked in the mirror but did admit he looked good. He was wearing his white snowboarding trousers that had black patchwork around the sides of the thighs, a white and black jacket to match and a teal coloured scarf that Rangiku had been trying to get him to wear for months.

‘You look sexy,’ she laughed and he frowned looking into the mirror.

‘You’re sure? I don’t just look “cute” again?’ he scowled and she smirked at him.

‘It’s you Tosh, you’re always going to look both cute _and_ sexy.’ He flushed a little at her words as he put on a pair of touch gloves. Despite it being only November some snow had begun to fall and Toshiro knew it would be important to wrap up but he wondered if he’d be too warm with his light black sweater underneath his jacket.

He was getting those usual butterflies in his stomach that could only be brought on by seeing Yukio, he was still crushing badly on the blond but who wouldn’t be? Half the University was in love with him too and they often had to arrange elaborate plans to get him around without him getting spotted by floods of fans.  Normally when they went out it wasn’t nearly that bad, either people were too drunk or it was a fleeting glimpse in the street so he’d only get approached a couple of times outside of the University.

‘Nervous?’

‘No.’

‘You’ve got a crush,’ Rangiku was teasing him as she sang out the sentence making him flush, he could feel the heat creeping up his neck and across his face.

‘Shut up.’

‘It’s nothing to feel embarrassed about, he’s totally cute, I can see why you’re smitten with him.’

‘Smitten is a strong word, I find his sex appeal to admirable at best.’

‘Whatever,’ she laughed at him as he dropped him off close to town, he got out the car and waved her off as he set off in the direction of the hotel he had arranged to meet his friends at. Ichigo and Yukio were already there waving at him and it just seemed they were waiting on Rukia and Renji.

‘Hey guys look it’s Toshiro,’ Yukio had his camera out and was facing it raising a finger to obviously try and poke Toshiro in the background of the shot. Toshiro skilfully dodged the digit with a smirk and Yukio erupted in laughter.

‘That looks hilarious on shot,’ Yukio pulled his camera back with a grin and rewound the scene playing it for Toshiro and Ichigo and indeed it did look like Toshiro had danced out of the way of a giant alien finger erupting from the ground.

‘That’s priceless,’ Ichigo laughed as he pulled Toshiro into a side hug. The smaller male wriggled out and punched Ichigos arm playfully tossing him a grin as the strawberry smirked down at him.

‘You look good Tosh,’ Ichigo cooed eyeing him, ‘white is definitely your colour.’

‘You had to go with red Ichigo didn’t you?’

‘We seem to be wearing our own hair colours,’ Ichigo threw back at him and the two boys chuckled when Yukio frowned.

‘I seem to have broken this chain, I’m wearing baby blue and I should be wearing-‘

‘Banana yellow?’ that comment earned a punch to Ichigos other arm from the blond.

It didn’t take long for Rukia and Renji to arrive, Rukia kitted out in a bright purple jacket and Renji in a plain black and the crew were off, Yukio leading so he could film them all as they walked behind him. Toshiro tried his best to ignore the camera and focus on having fun with his friends for the day. They’d walked through the market and made their way to the giant ferris wheel where they all crammed into one of the pods and sat around in a circle. Toshiro and Rukia had taken to turning around on their seats, sitting up on their knees for a better view.

‘Look at the two short asses,’ Renji laughed pointing at them, and Toshiro was very sure a camera was being pointed in their direction. ‘Speaking of asses, looking good Tosh, I mean there’s a lot of layers on there but I can see what you mean.’ Toshiro burled back around his cheeks blazing and glared daggers at the tall crimson red head as they all laughed.

‘The red on your cheeks is very endearing Toshiro,’ Ichigo cooed, ‘it compliments the white nicely.’

‘Stop flirting with me,’ Toshiro barked back, wanting to find something to say because he knew a camera was still being directed at them and he desperately wished the heat would retract back from his face.

‘Why? You’re so flirtable!’

‘That’s not even a word.’ Toshiro scowled and flipped him off as he turned back around to look back out over Edinburgh. ‘If you like my ass so much Kurosaki you can kiss it.’

Now, there are many fun banter-y things to say to your friends. However you should always be aware of the friends who like to take things that little bit too seriously. So while his back was turned he missed the sight but felt the movement of their pod as Ichigo made his way over and turned around in time to witness Ichigo actually kissing his ass through his layers of clothing.

‘What the hell you fucking weirdo,’ Toshiro choked out, laughing with everyone else but also breaking out in another very vivid deep red blush.

* * *

 

Yukio was terrible at ice skating, he was actually terrible. Rukia was just as good as Toshiro and she took the camera to turn it on the poor Californian boy who was grasping the edge of the ice skating rink like his life depended on it. Renji wasn’t that great either but at least he could get away from the edge. Ichigo was a little wobbly and he and Renji just clung onto each other, it happened when Ichigo pushed himself from the side railing towards Renji with his arms outstretched shouting ‘hug me brother!’ before crashing into him.

Yukio stood with his fingers enclosed around the railings watching everyone skate and Toshiro came to his side the moment he stepped onto the ice.

‘Do you want a hand?’ he offered with a smug little grin and Yukio looked down and made a face at him.

‘Are you good enough for the both of us?’ he asked with a frown and Toshiro rolled his eyes, resisting the urge to throw back an innuendo because he felt the camera being shoved in his face by Rukia. Instead he pushed off from the edge and skated out into the middle of the rink effortlessly falling in line with everyone else, except he was showing off a little by going backwards and making small jumps. He couldn’t do anything too extravagant given the size of the crowds around him. He soon made his way back to Yukios side and fixed him with a stoic expression.

‘Okay you’re good enough, I’ll let you help me,’ Yukio frowned and nodded.

‘How very kind of you,’ Toshiro rolled his eyes and took the mans arm, he tugged him gently. ‘You have to let go of the side Yukio.’

‘Why?’ his voice sounded funny… he was scared.

‘Because _muffin_ I cannot help you if you’re clutching onto the railing now can I?’ Toshiro teased him and the handsome blond glanced between his hand on the railing to the hand in Toshiros.

‘Promise I wont fall?’

‘I’d never let you fall,’ Toshiro spoke with such clarity that the blond finally let go of the side and his other hand instantly came to grab at Toshiro for balance.

‘Okay, I let go now what?’ he had his legs spread apart and so far they were only moving a little as Toshiro did his best to try and guide him.

‘You have to move your feet,’ he pointed down, ‘like this,’ he moved one foot and Yukio copied him. Then the other and Toshiro was grinning at the stupid happy look that seemed to cross the blonds face as he clung onto him.

‘I’m skating,’ he laughed and Rukia came up beside them filming the ridiculously adorable look of pure joy on the blonds face.

‘Okay you’re getting the hang of it, that’s really good,’ Toshiro was encouraging him very pleased with the way his feet were moving. ‘I’m going to let go now, you can do it on your own-‘

‘NO! Don’t leave me,’ he clung even more to Toshiro and the prodigy felt himself being yanked into his personal space, the blonds face so close to his own that he could feel heat emitting from it and when he turned to look at him Toshiro could taste his breath on his lips.

‘Um,’ his mind had gone blank, where were they? What were they doing again?

‘Look out!’ It was Ichigo who couldn’t seem to stop himself as he headed straight for them nearly ploughing into the two but Toshiro managed to pull Yukio out of the way in time. Unfortunately the movement meant that he was trapped, pressed up against the wall of the rink and the blond. ‘Sorry, blame Renji,’ Ichigo called turning to glare at the taller male who was laughing hysterically from the side.

Toshiro frowned as he tried to move away from the rather intimate position he had been placed in with Yukio, not that he was bothered in the slightest but he didn’t want to allow the chance for any dirty thoughts to arise. His attempt to get away though meant he was lifting a leg and tried to twist his body around to get out from the sandwich at the same time the blond tried to push away from the edge to give him room. At that moment Ichigo swung by again and bopped the blond on the back forcing him back into Toshiro who was now trapped the other way, his back towards Yukio and the blonds’ pelvis and hips pressed flush against his ass. He could feel heat rising in his cheeks as he tried to scramble out of the position. Yukios hands placed themselves on the railing on either side of Toshiros body.

‘What are you doing?’ Toshiro hissed back at him trying to keep the embarrassment from his voice.

‘Kind of enjoying the position to be honest,’ he laughed back in his ear, his breath brushing the outer shell of his lobe. As if to emphasise his point he thrust his hips against Toshiros ass and the prodigy close his eyes, this was not the place for this kind of flirting. As if to emphasise his embarrassment Rukia swung by with the camera pointing directly at them a smirk on her lips as Yukio waved, grinning into the lens.

‘Hi mom!’ he called and Toshiro hissed at him, thrusting back to try and push the boy away from the side so he could get free but of course the movement meant he was thrusting his ass back into Yukios groin.

‘Oh my, my, my,’ Rukia chuckled as both boys froze at the movement she quickly turned the camera around so her head was in shot and the two boys were in the background. ‘Well now we call this the act of mating, but there are several other differences between human beings and animals that you should know about…’ she spoke directly at the camera and Toshiro was mortified. His entire face must have gone red as Ichigo and Renji both took this moment to appear singing along to the song.

‘Guys!’ Yukio laughed, ‘I don’t have the rights to The Bloodhound Gang,’ they didn’t stop though and apparently Yukio was now determined to play along when Ichigo leaned over to whisper in Yukios ear.

‘I’d appreciate your input,’ they all chuckled and soon were whistling the song ‘The Bad Touch.’

‘Sweat baby sweat baby, sex is a Texas draught, me and you do the kind of stuff that only Prince would sing about.’ They were all singing and now everyone around the rink was watching them, children were being led away by parents and eyes were being covered as Yukio kept Toshiro pinned perfectly, replicating thrusting into him from behind. Despite his complete embarrassment and mortification he could feel his trousers becoming tighter at the feeling of the blond, especially when his hands came down to grasp his hips to hold him in place.

‘You and me baby ain’t nothing but mammals, so lets do it like they do on the discovery channel,’ Yukio laughed as he finally flipped Toshiro around to pin him back against the wall this time facing each other. Toshiro choked before he hastily ducked under the blonds arm and quickly skated to safety.

‘You’re fucking perverted freaks I swear,’ he shot at them and they were all laughing. They were soon asked to leave the ice by the rink owners telling them they weren’t welcome back again if they couldn’t ‘keep things in the bedroom.’

After this the day took a turn for the more normal and Toshiro treated them all too some chocolate dipped marshmallows while Renji bought a round of drinks. Since none of them were driving they happily sipped away at the various worldly beers that Renji brought back as they looked out over the rest of the market. Darkness was now around them and the lights of the various rides reflected well on Toshiros white clothing. Yukio was watching back his footage as they all crowded around his camera and were laughing hysterically at all the silly antics they’d gotten up to that day.

‘The Yukies are going to love this, this is the first proper video of you all, just all of us nothing else.’ Yukio smiled as he cradled the camera in his lap.

‘It’s actually kind of cool, documenting the stuff you do in your life to put online, just think all your future descendants can look back and see how wickedly cool their great, great grandfathers life was.’ Ruka muttered and Yukio grinned up to her and nodded.

‘Yeah if I go on to have any children you’re right,’ he laughed and put the camera away in his bag shivering as he did so.

‘Here,’ Toshiro didn’t even think about it, not once, he was boiling hot inside the jacket and was meaning to take it off anyway when he handed it to the blond.

‘You’ll freeze,’ he said rather shocked as Toshiro handed over the beautiful white jacket.

‘I have a jumper on besides I kind of like the cold,’ he shrugged nonchalantly but didn’t miss the fact that Yukio buried his nose into it when he put it on.

‘Mmm, it smells like you.’

‘Are you saying I smell?’ Toshiro frowned, he felt bad now, maybe he’d sweated too much, that was rather disgusting.

‘No, it smells really good,’ the blond murmured and Toshiro had to duck his head to hide his blush as he muttered about going to get another drink.

‘So,’ Rukia seemed to have dived over with him, ‘Yukio huh?’ she was grinning from ear to ear and he groaned and shook his head.

‘No honestly-‘

‘Your secret is safe with me,’ she chuckled and he wrinkled his nose but otherwise gave up.

‘Thanks, can I buy you a drink?’ he offered but she shook her head holding up her half empty bottle.

‘Still got all this to go,’ they made their way back to the wooden table they’d been sitting it and Toshiro clenched his jaw. Yukio was very obviously blushing and Ichigo was leaning across the table towards him and whatever they were saying stopped the moment the two appeared.

So he was still in competition with Ichigo it seemed? Oh well… at least the blond was wearing _his_ jacket Toshiro thought to himself.

 

* * *

 

 

Rangiku had laughed, and laughed, and laughed, and laughed when Yukios video had gone up the next day. She replayed it several times as well and Toshiro sighed in exasperation. Despite asking the blond to leave him out of it, he seemed to feature in it more than anyone else. He knew it was because of the fact he’d been helping the blond to skate but he felt awkward and self conscious at how many times he’d blushed and the positions he’d managed to find himself in with his friends.

Rangiku was over the moon with it, she kept saying how he was wearing the blond down and how it would only be a matter of time now. He tried to drown her out but a huge part of him wanted to believe she was right.

The group chat had exploded the moment the video went up but Toshiro was trying to avoid it as much as possible, it was mostly audio clip messages and their own badly made memes which Toshiro desperately hoped wouldn’t get out to the internet. That was the last thing he needed to become. A meme.

Yukio had gotten really excited about something though and went on to tell them that he was going to be doing a pod cast interview with Grace Helbig on her show ‘Not Too Deep.’

Toshiro was also over the moon with this because he adored Grace and wondered what kind of questions the fans on twitter would ask Yukio to try and find out about his potential crush, since he hadn’t mentioned anything for a couple of videos now. Toshiro had had a lot of fun scrolling through the youtube comments of the video he and Rangiku had just watched a hundred times. Mostly people were warming to him and the idea that Yukio and he could be a thing, a lot were still dead set on Ichigo and Toshiro groaned in frustration. He just wanted to _know._

‘Ask him,’ Rangiku advised and he stared at her.

‘I can’t do that,’ he hissed back at her.

‘Why not?’

‘Guys don’t talk about that kind of stuff!’

‘Why not?’

‘Because we just don’t… we don’t talk feelings and stuff we just… I dunno we just don’t.’

‘Well you should think about it.’ She huffed back and he sighed, of course she was right but he’d never admit that to her.


	6. YukiShiro Ship

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The world ships YukiShiro and so do I =D

Sunday night rolled around and Toshiro was exhausted, he’d been tossing and turning and not sleeping very well. He came to the couch for a nap but was still unable to shut his brain down. He’d been trying to stay away from the comments section of the day out vlog but it was proving difficult and as he lay on the couch in the living room he tossed to the side and grabbed his phone from the table quickly bringing up the video and scrolling down to the top comments. His heart jumped into his throat. All the comments had shifted…

 

**SmittenKitten11**

YukiShiro! YukiShiro! YukiShiro!

_3452 likes_

 

**YukiShiro4Lyfe**

@08:46mins I’ve replayed this thrusting scene so many times. I want them to get together so bad!

_2544 likes_

 

**BandanaBoy**

I think it’s Ichigo he’s crushing on… but gods do I want it to be Toshiro D=

_2888 likes_

 

He was so confused, he was certainly happy with the comments. He’d spent ages talking to Ran about the whole thing before she nipped out to the shops, she’d said that she was sure both Ichigo and Yukio liked him and they were in some kind of race or bet to try and win him over. It would certainly explain both boys’ weird behaviour but Toshiro was doubtful. Too many times had he approached to see them both flirting (or what he thought was flirting since one or the other would be blushing) only for them to stop talking. He put his phone down on the table with a groan and turned back around to close his eyes. Maybe sleep would lead him in the right direction.

Two hands were rubbing their way down his body, he could feel the heated palms against his naked flesh and his eyes flew open. What the hell? His skin was flushed and he knew he was sweating he wasn’t sure what was going on until he looked down. A very vivid deep emerald eye was piercing into him, it was dark with lust. The skilled hands came up his torso to tweak his nipples earning a groan from him.

‘I love hearing the noises you make,’ his voice was low and unbelievably husky. His arms hitched Toshiros legs up to his waist and the prodigy was met with some sight. The slightly taller blond was buried completely inside him and his own erection was leaking onto his stomach. The pleasure shot up and down him and he just wanted the boy to fuck him senseless until he came. As if complying to an unspoken command the blond dragged out of him incredibly slowly and Toshiro watched the sight as he did it, then he thrust all the way back in and Toshiro snapped his head back and moaned. The sound seemed to stir the blond on and before Toshiro knew it there was a steady rhythm going that had him mewling under the taller male. It was so amazing, feeling every inch of the blond buried deep inside him, so amazing that he was going to…

‘ _I-I’m fuck_ ,’ Toshiro moaned, his back arching off the couch as he could feel his body reaching that peak. ‘ _Y-YUKIO!_ ’ he practically screamed, moaning and groaning as the blond fucked him through his orgasm. Even after he was done, the blond was still trusting into him, whispering dirty talk into his ear and trying to get him to come back out to play. It wasn’t long before his member was hardening up again ready for another round. He woke with a start. A loud noise had drawn his attention, his eyes focused on the back of the couch as he lay on his side facing in towards it. He was about to turn over when he heard voices.

‘I think he’s having another bad dream,’ it was Rangiku and she sounded worried, ‘he’ll be in the living room.’

‘Should I wake him?’ the voice was undeniably Californian and Toshiro quickly shut his eyes. What the hell was the blond doing here? Gods, not right now, not right after that dream. He could feel his cheeks burning and the erection still in his pants. He wasn’t sure without shifting his weight if he had actually came or if there was just a lot of pre cum. He was so thankful he’d chosen to wear dark loose fitting jeans as he slumbered any wet stains would be less visible on this fabric if anything made it through his boxers.

‘You have to be careful when waking someone from a nightmare,’ she instructed and he heard them walk through to the living room. He tried to even out his breathing as they both seemed to pause. ‘It seems the worst of it must be over.’

‘How often does he get them?’ Yukio asked, his voice sounded concerned.

‘He’s not had one in a couple of months now the last one was bad, he threw up.’ Toshiro felt weight on the couch just above his head, the weight was familiar and he knew it was Rangiku. He kept his eyes shut tightly he just needed to calm down before he could pretend to wake up. Once his erection was gone he’d be fine.

‘Jesus, well I know how he feels, I haven’t had one since I came to Scotland, but I used to get them a lot too.’

‘What brought yours on?’ Rangiku had a wonderful way of just encouraging people to open up. Toshiro was convinced it was because of her motherly demeanour, she was convinced it was her sex appeal.

‘My parents,’ Yukio muttered with a sigh. Toshiro frowned, he remembered the numerous videos Yukio had spoken about them. He hadn’t said much except that he left when he was 15 years old and never sees them.

‘What did they do to you?’ Rangiku seemed to be asking the questions that Toshiro wanted to ask.

‘They used to beat me.’ The words were followed by silence and Toshiro had to stop his eyes from flying open in shock. What? What!?

‘I’m sorry, that must have been so tough growing up,’ Rangikus voice was full of that same motherly concern and Toshiro felt her weight shift towards him. ‘You and Toshiro should talk about that some time I am sure he’d like to know he’s not the only one who gets nightmares, he thinks it makes him look weak.’

‘That’s bullshit,’ Yukio snorted, ‘they’re the sign you’re getting stronger, your minds way of working stuff out.’

‘I tried to tell him that,’ Rangiku chuckled back.

‘Why does he… I mean what happened?’

‘Toshiro lost his parents when he was 14 years old,’ Raniku started and seemed to hesitate. No that was not a conversation he wanted them to have while he was lying here potentially covered in his own release after a wet dream. He pretended to stir and that must have drawn their attention, what an awkward predicament. He turned around and let his eyes furrow in confusion as he stared up at them all.

‘Yukio? What are you?’

‘I need your help,’ the blond was leaning forward and grinning at him, clearly trying to make it look like they hadn’t just been having a deep and meaningful conversation while his back was turned. ‘I got a bad copyright claim against one of the videos me and Ichigo were working on and I need a track, anything to help me get over it. I don’t want a black mark against my account or I could lose my right to make money from my videos.’ Toshiro sat bolt upright and rubbed his eyes, he tried not to shuffle his lower half too much.

‘Oh Toshiro will help,’ Rangiku chuckled, her voice was low and full of mischief and Toshiro glared at her. ‘He’s one of your biggest fans.’

‘Rangiku, shut up,’ he quickly stood up and tried to move fast, the situation in his boxers was needing attention quickly and he didn’t want them to notice. He walked over to the blond and wrapped his fingers around his arm to tug him towards his room.

‘Wait I want to hear this…’ Yukio was gazing at Rangiku with a smirk, ‘just how big a fan is he?’

‘He’s seen all your videos, he’s a solid Yukie way before you moved here-‘

‘Rangiku!’ Toshiro scowled at her, heat creeping up his neck as he heard Yukio howl with laughter behind him. He couldn’t listen to this, the blond wasn’t budging and he was not strong enough to force him to move. So he let go and stormed to his room alone, slamming the door shut. At least he had enough time to change out of his sticky boxers and jeans and into a pair of comfortable dark grey joggies. Soon there was a knock at his door and he scowled, swinging his bare feet up onto his bed.

‘Come in,’ he muttered bitterly and Yukio came in with a massive grin on his face.

‘So, framed tweet huh?’

‘Shut up,’ Toshiro scowled at him but knew he was blushing furiously.

‘I knew you were subscribed to my twitter that day we first properly met in the audio studio but I thought you were only doing research since I was here. After all Rukia and the others never started to follow me until I showed up but you…’ he was grinning again and Toshiro couldn’t look at him, couldn’t make eye contact with him.

‘It isn’t framed, I just printed it…’ he muttered and Yukio laughed, walking over and hopping up onto his bed. Toshiros heart leapt into his throat… Yukio was on his bed. Now was _not_ the time for any specific thoughts. He tried to keep his mind blank as he stared at the laptop screen starting up.

‘Rangiku said you had one of my t shirts too?’

‘I’m going to kill her,’ he mumbled as he bit his lower lip, the blond was enjoying this far too much as he chuckled away beside him. ‘Do you want the damn track or not?’ Toshiro growled at him and he instantly stopped and nodded.

‘I’m sorry I’ll stop, I just find it so cute, anyway.’ Toshiro sighed at that cute word again and leaned over to his bedside table lifting his glasses out of his case and his USB. He slipped the thick black rimmed rectangular specs onto his face and pushed them up his nose as he inserted the USB.

‘Toshiro,’ Yukios voice was lower and the prodigy turned towards him. The blond was unbelievably close, his only visible emerald eye flicking between Toshiros own, it had the same look in it as it did in his dream. Toshiro gulped and leaned back away from him slightly, the blond was leaning closer. His heart was pounding, was he going to kiss him? Yukio seemed to lose his nerve or something because his face crumpled and he sat back, ‘you have a mark on your glasses.’

‘Oh,’ Toshiro hoped the blush or disappointment on his face wasn’t too much as he pulled them off to give them a quick clean and put them back on again.

‘You really suit them you know,’ the blond mumbled.

‘Thanks to you,’ Toshiro smiled, ‘I don’t wear contacts.’

‘Is that because…?’

‘Yeah,’ Toshiro flushed, ‘you said in a video once you had a thing for guys who wore glasses so I never bothered getting contact lenses. I know that’s stupid.’

‘Not stupid at all,’ he was amused as he shook his head. ‘Especially when you look as good as you do in them.’ Toshiro dipped his head to hide his embarrassment as he quickly scanned through his files on his USB to locate his folder of songs.

‘What do you like about my videos? I’m not fishing for compliments I just want to know why you were such a fan?’

‘Am a fan,’ he mumbled, ‘I still am,’ he sat back and straightened up and turned to look at him. ‘You were always so unapologetically yourself in them, so open and honest about being gay and your sexuality without being… too… camp.’ He sighed as he turned back towards his screen, shoving his glasses back up his nose. ‘It helped me a lot when I was coming out.’

‘Did someone close to you disapprove or something?’

‘No,’ he mumbled, ‘the world did. I thought…’ he sighed and tilted his head back to take a deep breath. ‘My parents died in shooting a week after I told them. I know Ran already mentioned to you that they died when I was 14, I was taken in by my Gran but she died the day after I finally opened up to her about being gay too…’

‘So you thought… the world was punishing you?’ Yukios voice was so low he sounded like it was full of emotion and Toshiro refused to meet his eye. If he met it he might crumple into a weeping mess in his arms and admit feelings he wasn’t ready to admit yet.

‘Yes, but I get that’s stupid I know that now. Rangiku has helped me a lot, even when her family moved back to Japan she stayed behind to look after me, she’s been looking after me since I was old enough to walk. Her parents and my parents were very good friends.’ He shook his head and turned his attention back to his laptop screen. ‘My misery seemed to attract a lot of bullies though so I struggled to make friends, that and being launched forward a few years, who wants to befriend a nerd right? But youtubers…’ he smiled to himself, ‘you and Tyler and Grace and everyone else, you’re like silent friends, you don’t judge you just share. Watching youtubers got me though without you guys and Ran I don’t think I’d be the person I am today. So don’t ever take what you do for granted and that’s why I will help with your channel in anyway I can.’

He was being engulfed in a massive hug from behind. He froze at the feeling, the two arms were wrapped around his neck and chest from behind and he felt warmth pool in his stomach. He lifted his hands to awkwardly attach them onto the limbs wrapped around his body as he chuckled.

‘I’m sorry all that happened Toshiro, and I’m glad I was able to help even in a small way. I guess we take for granted the wider effect we have on people  because to us we’re just looking into a camera and reading comments but when you meet the people face to face and hear the stories… it makes it so much more _real.’_ He was silent for a while and Toshiro could feel the heat emitting from his body. Eventually he pulled back and looked at him. ‘My parents…’

‘I heard,’ Toshiro nodded, ‘I was coming too when you guys were talking, I’m so sorry Yukio.’ He diverted his gaze back to his laptop, ‘I completely understand why you never told any of your Yukies that though.’

‘Yeah, a lot of us youtubers still keep a lot of stuff private,’ he nodded his head as he leaned an elbow on Toshiros leg to glance at his laptop screen.

‘Do you have the video with you that we need to save?’

‘It’s on my youtube account, can I log in?’ he asked and Toshiro handed his laptop over watching as the boy took it onto his lap and logged in. He was trying not to fan girl. Yukio was on his bed, logging into his youtube account. He handed the laptop back to Toshiro and the prodigy couldn’t help his eyes fluttering to the boys’ analytics which flashed vaguely how much he was earning and – HOLY SHIT. Toshiro quickly looked away from it, that was private but _Jesus_! The boy was earning probably about the same amount as a fully trained surgeon or lawyer.

‘If you click into the video you’ll see it is blocked in Germany just now but I’ve made it private until we can fix it,’ he mumbled and Toshiro clicked into the video. It was only a few minutes long but it was nice to see that he and Ichigo had been working on a video together. It wasn’t a usual vlog though, it was a sketch about procrastination where Ichigo appeared as a tiny little horned devil and angel on Yukios shoulder trying to encourage him to do things and not do things. The video was hilarious and Toshiro was laughing at it but it was lacking music.

‘Got anything you think would go?’ Yukio asked hopefully and Toshiro was silent.

‘Nothing background-y,’ he pulled his USB out realising those songs would be useless as he scampered off his bed and picked up his synthesiser. ‘But I can make something.’

‘You’re a total life saver,’ Yukio smiled at him. It only took Toshiro 20 minutes to create a relaxed background funny tune that they both thought went really well with the video. Youtube was much happier once he’d swapped out the audio and Toshiro was happy to text his confirmation that he was handing over the copyright of the track to Yukio. He gave the blond boy a copy of the track for any future videos and Yukio was thrilled.

‘Oh, the nightmares,’ Yukio said turning back to him after pocketing a USB with the track. ‘Don’t you dare think having nightmares is bad,’ he frowned at him, ‘because it’s not.’

‘Yeah,’ Toshiro didn’t turn around in time to hide his blush as he tried to push the thoughts of the dream from his mind.

‘Why on earth are you-‘ Yukio was leaning to the side trying to see his face but Toshiro simply pushed his glasses back up his nose and turned away. ‘Oh. My. God.’

‘What?’ Toshiros head flew back around, he knew the blush was all over his face and he spotted the wicked grin on Yukios face.

‘It wasn’t a nightmare was it?’ the blond looked like a child at Christmas as he grinned evilly at him.

‘Y-yes it was!’

‘No it wasn’t,’ he cackled, ‘you were moaning, covered in sweat you changed your pants,’ he laughed in euphoria and Toshiro scowled at him.

‘Leave me alone,’ he mumbled lying back on his bed and pulling a pillow over his face.

‘Oh my god Toshiro,’ he was laughing hysterically now, ‘now that dream is worth talking about.’

‘It really is not,’ Toshiro huffed into the pillow.

‘I’m glad it wasn’t a nightmare, here we were worried about you and you were busy getting off!’ he was cackling with glee, like a witch whose hex had been successful on an enemy.

‘Shut up.’

‘So were you fucking someone else or were they fucking you? Was it someone I know?’ Yukio was moving closer to him and Toshiro was pressing the pillow into his face. He could feel the heat from his flushed cheeks being absorbed by the soft material as he tried to fight back the waves of utter humiliation that washed over him.

‘I’m not discussing this,’ he groaned into the pillow. ‘This topic is off limits.’

‘What? I can’t hear you under that pillow, Tosh.’ The prodigy felt weight pressing down on him from above and the blond was speaking through the pillow at him while he pressed his face into it.

‘Go away,’ he mumbled back to the boy.

‘But I want to know.’

‘Why?’

‘Because you’re such a closed off person, I want to know if you’re top or bottom.’

He was refusing to answer, he clung on tighter to pillow aware he could be suffocating and yet he didn’t care. Suffocating was surely a better way to go out than to admit to his crush he’d just had a wet dream about getting fucked by him? Toshiro yelped when he felt a body nudging its way between his legs and a weight pressing down on him. The blond must have been nestled between his legs with his body across Toshiro and the prodigy was trying to push dirty thoughts from his mind as he felt some part of the other males body press against his groin.

‘What the hell are you doing?’ he gasped through the pillow, still refusing to remove it from his face. He felt a hand trying to lift the lower part of the pillow and glanced down through his askew glasses to see the shape of the blond peering gleefully at him.

‘Peeka boo!’ he chuckled and Toshiro groaned tilting his head back up to try and hide his gaze from the boy. ‘Come on Tosh, there’s nothing to feel embarrassed about, I had one last week.’

No. He did not need those thoughts in his head while the blond was nestled between his legs. Oh god did he not need those thoughts in his head. He was trying to think of everything and anything else to keep himself from asking questions, or finding out more information.

‘I can tell you about mine if you want?’

‘No,’ Toshiro groaned into the pillow, ‘we shouldn’t be discussing this.’

‘Just please tell me, answer me two questions and I promise I’ll leave you alone, were you top or bottom?’

‘Bottom,’ he groaned and heard the blond laugh with glee.

‘And who was the guy fucking you?’

No way. Nope. He wasn’t going to admit that no way, nope. He had to come up with something fast, a smooth lie.

‘Renji.’

Why the fuck did he say that?

‘Really?’ the blond sounded surprised as he ripped the pillow easily off Toshiros face and the prodigy glared. Why did the Californian boy have to be so ridiculously strong? Toshiro quickly removed his glasses in case any damage could come to them and when he glanced at the boy he looked almost upset by his answer.

‘It doesn’t mean anything,’ Toshiro mumbled trying to ignore the sight of the blonds abdomen nestled between his legs. His face was now resting on his own arms on his chest as he gazed up at Toshiro. If there was ever a worse time for a boner it was right now, so Toshiro tried to push all thoughts from his mind. The blond looked a little upset by his answer.

‘Do you like Renji?’

‘What! No! Like I said it doesn’t mean anything, I’ve had dreams of having sex with women before but that doesn’t mean I like them.’

‘That’s true,’ Yukio was thoughtful for a while and shrugged his shoulders, his arms coming down to kneel on the bed on either side of his torso as he pushed himself up. ‘I’ve had dreams about women too so I guess you’re right.’ The blond was staring at the wall above Toshiros head and seem to make his mind up about something before smiling at him. Toshiro tried not to let the sight get to him as he felt his breath being literally knocked from his lungs by the beauty.

‘You’re lying on my crotch,’ Toshiro decided to inform him to see if he’d care or if he’d play it off. Mostly he just wanted the male to get off him, before his body betrayed him and embarrass him more than it already had.

‘Sorry,’ Yukio seemed amused as he sat up and gazed down at him with a smirk. ‘You took a long time to mention that, were you enjoying it or something?’

‘Don’t flatter yourself,’ Toshiro snorted in a voice that convinced even himself, though he could feel heat creeping across his face as he said it. ‘I kind of figured a 24 year old would know enough about body anatomy to know exactly where he was lying,’ Toshiro shot back crossing his arms across his chest and letting his head fall back so that the other male was towering over him.

‘Ah, touché,’ Yukio nodded a bit of colour now appearing on his face which he quickly tried to hide by turning his attention around to properly look at Toshiros room. ‘A guitar?’ he asked, spotting Momo perched on her stand, ‘do you play?’

‘No she just sits there to look good,’ he drawled in a sarcastic voice as Yukio turned to him smiling.

‘Can you play me something?’

‘No,’ he sat up, ‘I don’t play in front of people.’

‘Why not?’ Yukio frowned, ‘are you really that bad?’

Toshiro shrugged his shoulders but the blond was inquisitive now as he slipped off Toshiros bed. The prodigy had a large bookcase in his room because he was a total nerd and that’s where Yukios attention was now aimed as he glanced through his collection of good reads and movies.

‘Bleach? Good Anime, terrible ending,’ Yukio muttered as he glanced up and down the shelf.

‘Yeah wasn’t it? I also hate what the creator did with some of the characters, some of the characters were amazing so would it hurt him to put a little romance in it?’

‘Right?’ Yukio agreed shaking his head as he glanced around at the other books on the shelf.

‘Oh, The College Experience? I read that one, very good gay story, bit sat but brilliant ending,’ Yukio had pulled the book from his shelf and Toshiro smiled. It was one of his favourites, even if it had made him tear up a little.

‘Have you read In Other Situations?’ Toshiro slipped off his bed and made his way over the bookshelf. He plucked the book from his shelf and handed it to him.

‘No what’s it about?’

‘A three way gay situation, hence the title but it’s really good, gets a bit dark but I think you’ll like it.’ Toshiro was scanning his shelf, ‘you’re welcome to borrow it if you want?’

‘Sure, thanks,’ Yukio tucked the book under his arm and stood close to Toshiro as he glanced up and down his bookshelf.

‘There’s this movie called House of Shadows, it’s really good I think we should watch it together sometime.’

‘It sounds scary? Is it scary?’ Toshiro stood up and twisted the waistband of his trousers nervously. The movement drew the blonds eyes to his trousers and back to his eyes again, a grin on his face.

‘Don’t like horror much?’

‘Not really no,’ he shook his head with a shudder remembering all the times Rangiku had forced him to watch Silent Hill or Paranormal Activity and he couldn’t sleep for days after these events.

‘It’s not too bad,’ he shrugged his shoulders as he stepped forward, unbelievably close to whisper in his ear, ‘I’ll protect you, promise.’ Toshiro felt a little heat creep across his face as the blond pulled away with a grin then turned towards the bed where he picked up his car keys that had fallen from his pocket.

‘You drive manual?’ Toshiro asked, determined to change the topic away from anything else sexual.

‘Do I drive stick?’ Yukio grinned up at him. Well that plan backfired. ‘No I got an automatic but if you wanted you could teach me?’

‘You need to leave,’ Toshiro could feel heat back in his cheeks again.

‘Why?’ Yukio was grinning at him, ‘am I making you uncomfortable?’

‘Little bit yeah, how did you know where I lived anyway?’

‘Well Ichigo knew the general location, I came here and was calling you but you were obviously busy,’ he rolled his eyes with a grin, ‘you know having a sex dream and all-‘ gods would this night never end? ‘Thankfully Rangiku was returning from the shops and she bumped into me and brought me up. So now I can stalk you all time now I know where you live.’

‘Lucky me,’ Toshiro drawled sarcastically, earning another chuckle from the blond.

‘I guess I better go,’ he walked towards the door and Toshiro followed behind him leading him out into the hallway.

‘Yukio,’ Rangiku ran around the corner, ‘I just had a thought, Christmas is like 2 weeks away, where are you spending it?’

‘Oh, well… I got an invite to spend it with Ichigo and his family but I turned it down because he’s the only one I know and I’d feel a little awkward.’

‘Would you like to spend Christmas with us? You could come and stay here on Christmas Eve and spend all day Christmas day with us?’

‘Oh,’ Yukio looked at Toshiro and the prodigy couldn’t help the warm smile that plastered his face.

‘That sounds like a great idea,’ Toshiro added, ‘I can sleep on the couch Yukio can have my bed,’ Toshiro didn’t like the idea of a guest staying on a couch.

‘We can work something out, I can buy a blow up bed,’ Yukio smiled, ‘I’d love that thank you.’

‘Since we’re all here alone we can be alone together, it will be nice for me and Tosh to have more company.’

‘Sounds perfect thank you,’ Yukio grinned at the two of them and Toshiro led him to the door waving him off. He did notice the boy looked incredibly happy at the news.

‘That was nice of you,’ Toshiro mumbled closing the door and turning to Ran, ‘and actually a really good idea.’

‘Well I figured you wouldn’t have the balls to invite him, besides sleeping won’t be an issue he can just stay in your bed with you.’

‘Ran don’t you dare try to play match maker.’ He warned narrowing his eyes at his busty friend.

‘Why not? I’m so good at it,’ she smirked and waved at him. ‘I’m going to go for a shower so the living room is all yours.’ The girl crossed the hall towards her room. Her bedroom was right beside the bathroom and so Toshiro decided this was his perfect time, while the water was running she’d be too distracted he doubted she’d be able to hear him. When she gathered up her things and went into the bathroom Toshiro dove back into his bedroom, locking his room door. He grabbed a towel and his bottle of lube. The nights events and that dream had been playing at the back of his mind, teasing him and creating an itch he needed to scratch and that’s exactly what he was going to do.

He laid the towel out on his bed below him and he quickly stripped out of his trousers and boxers, his body was prepared for what was about to come, heat already flooding to his groin as he popped the cap of lube and got on all fours above the towel. He knew Rangikus showers lasted around 30 minutes so that’s how much time he’d have to try and relive himself without having to worry about the noises that would come out of his mouth. Still he pulled a pillow forward for his face to fall into if he felt concerned about his audio levels. He quickly coated his fingers in the lube and reached behind himself to his quivering hole.

The first finger slid in no problem and his muscles welcomed the intrusion as if they had been desperate for it all day. Well since the dream anyway. Toshiro closed his eyes and took deep breaths, he began to move the finger in and out easily, the lube made for next to no pain and soon he was adding a second. The stretch was bigger but still not too big of an issue and he was groaning and rocking on the bed until he moved up to the third. This time he felt the pain rattle down his spine but he forced the pain from his mind as he started to conjure images of the blond between his legs, remember the dream. The sight of the blond buried deep inside him, pulling out slowly as Toshiro removed his fingers, then slamming back in as Toshiro thrust back in.

He was soon moaning and muffling the noises with his pillow as he did so, his whole body was trembling with the strain and he curled his fingers, searching and searching until… he threw back his head and let a choked moan echo around his bedroom. He pressed back into his own fingers which he was now using to abuse his prostate, imagining them to be the tip of Yukios weeping cock as the blond buried himself balls deep inside him.

 _‘Y-Yukio_ ,’ he panted into the room, the top half of his body slumping onto the pillow as he reached under him with a lube coated palm and began to pump his erection. He was trying to picture the hand not to be his own but to the warm rougher hands of the Californian boy as he wanked him off in time with his thrusts. Toshiro could feel his orgasm building, his body desperate for release and it didn’t take him long, with one final thrust against his prostate and one painful tug on his length he was choking his orgasm into his pillow as he came hard onto the towel. He pulled his fingers out and rolled over away from the mess, using the towel to wipe his hands. He lay panting for a long time and checked his clock, it had literally only been 10 minutes. He flushed at himself, if he was ever going to get with the blond he’d need to up his game. If that had been Yukio actually fucking him he’d have come a lot sooner and harder and the last thing he needed was the blond thinking he suffered from premature ejaculation. His excuse was simple, lack of sleep and the dream from earlier got him overly stimulated plus the fact the boy in his fantasies was hot as fuck.

Rangiku finished up in the shower and as soon as she came out, Toshiro threw the towel in the washing and grabbed a new one to wrap around his waist and made his own way in for a shower. What did it matter if he’d come a little early? It wasn’t at all like he’d ever get a chance with the blond anyway.


	7. Interviews and Birthdays

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The fluff is real people...

‘ _What’s up perverts_?’ the funny feminine voice echoed around the living room and Rangiku and Toshiro grinned at each other from across the couch. He pulled his bare feat up onto the plush comfortable furnishing and hugged the pillow he’d brought from his bedroom into his chest. The Grace Helbig pod cast had only gone live around 20 minutes ago but Toshiro had been waiting for Rangiku to return home before he started it. He wanted her company and maybe together they could try and fathom any hidden meanings that might help them decide who the blond boy liked. Toshiro had been invited to Rukia and Renjis place along with Ichigo to listen to the pod cast but he’d turned it down. If the blond said anything about Ichigo he didn’t want them to witness the obvious hurt or… if he said anything about Toshiro he didn’t want them to see the obvious joy.

Butterflies had settled in his stomach from the moment Grace’s voice rung out around their living room and he tugged at the soft cotton trousers he wore as he waited desperately to hear the Californian voice of the man of his dreams. Rangiku handed him a tub of chicken chow mein from the Chinese place just outside their apartment block and he took the box with a kind smile as Grace finished up her intro and advertisements for sponsors.

‘Guess who we have on the show today? IT’S YUKIO!’

‘Hey,’ the Californian voice drawled out around the room and Toshiros toes curled as he paused eating for a moment.

‘I’ve missed you, you big lug you ran off to Scotland.’

‘Yeah I did I’m sorry,’

‘What’s it like there?’

‘Not going to lie Grace, it rains all the time. Like we all just thought the Scots were complaining about nothing? No it literally rains _all_ the time.’

‘Thank goodness you know how to swim then right?’

‘Yeah definitely,’ they chuckled together for a moment.

‘So I saw your little sketch video you did with one of your friends, Ichigo? I’ve been trying to keep up with your videos, but tell me what things have been like there for you.’

‘Oh man Scotland is incredible, I am home sick though I miss the sun, but I can’t get over the sexy accents of everyone here and how many red heads there are.’

Toshiro and Rangiku looked at each other and she grinned and he just rolled his teal eyes at her. She knew how important her strawberry blond hair was to the fashion world of Scotland.

‘Do you like red heads?’ Grace asked and the two friends leaned closer to the speaker in the living room.

‘Why do I feel like that question has an ulterior motive?’ he chuckled back at her and she laughed.

‘I think every single one of your fans wants to know which of the three guys – or Rukia! It is that you like? I mean we went to twitter because we wanted to get fans to send you in questions and literally the only questions we got were around this mysterious man you’re crushing on.’

‘Yeah, I know I’m drawing that out,’ he chuckled and seemed to contemplate what exactly it was he was going to say next.

‘Is it Rukia? Can we rule out Rukia?’ Grace pressed and Toshiro could feel his heart hammering in his chest.

‘Yes we can rule out Rukia, she’s adorable but it isn’t her.’ He laughed and Grace jumped right back in.

‘She is adorable isn’t she? Okay… does this guy know you like him, have you told him?’

‘No, he might be able to guess but I’ve not vocally voiced anything to him yet.’

‘And have you two kissed?’

‘No…..’ he drawled and Grace made a noise.

‘Why do I not believe that?’

‘No we’ve not kissed but there have been times where I’ve wanted to or been close to doing it.’

‘What’s stopped you?’

‘Is this an interrogation into my love life?’ you could tell by his voice he was trying to be casual but he was embarrassed.

‘Yes, now what stopped you?’

‘He leaned away so I don’t know… maybe he didn’t want to kiss me? Fear of rejection all that other stuff,’ he chuckled uncomfortably.

That made Toshiro feel better, if it was Ichigo at least he knew they hadn’t made it that far yet. He seemed to sigh with relief and he went back to eating his food, now that the butterflies had settled a little.

‘Who wouldn’t want to kiss you? You’re gorgeous, is he even gay?’ she asked and Rangiku nodded her approval.

‘Yes he’s gay,’ he chuckled a little.

‘And have none of your friends cornered you about this? About who it is you like?’

‘One of them has and they know who it is,’ Yukio said and Toshiro turned to Rangiku sharply. Yukio hadn’t spoken to him about anything and he was sure if Rukia knew she’d have said something. So that left only Ichigo and Renji, if it was Ichigo then maybe he’d spoken to Renji about it but those two didn’t seem that close… unless… unless Ichigo knew and it was Toshiro! That wouldn’t explain the weird behaviour about the two… unless Ichigo knew that it was him and didn’t return the feelings? Gah he was still confused.

‘So we put up a poll and asked people two questions, we asked them who they thought it was first of all and second of all who they _wanted_ it to be.’

‘Alright this should be interesting,’ Yukios voice sounded intrigued and Toshiro exchanged another look with Rangiku.

‘Okay… can I get a drum roll please?’ Grace asked and quickly Yukio started drumming his fingers or something on a hard surface. ‘That’s a terrible drum roll but I’ll take it,’ she joked with him and he laughed.

‘Okay… so… 72% of votes on the poll believe that Ichigo is the person you’re crushing on, 20% say Toshiro and 8% say Renji.’

‘Alright, that’s interesting,’ Yukio mused as he started up his drum roll again. Toshiro could feel butterflies in his stomach as he waited to hear who the other Yukies had voted for in the second poll.

‘Now… topping the chart… of who they’d most like to see you with… with a whopping 89% of votes…’

‘89%? Jesus,’ Yukio commented, over the drumming.

‘Is… Toshiro!’

‘Whoa, wasn’t expecting it to be that high,’ Yukio laughed and Rangiku shot Toshiro a look from across the room. He could feel heat creeping up his neck and out across his cheeks as he could feel the smugness radiating from his strawberry blond friend.

‘It surprised me too but I’d have voted the same way, I _think_ that it’s Ichigo but I _hope_ its Toshiro.’

‘Why? I’m curious?’

‘Well, I mean… I don’t want to assume anything but you and Ichigo just seem so close every time I’ve seen you in a video together. You’re always cuddling and all up in each others personal spaces.’

‘That makes sense, me and Ichigo do get on very well,’ he sounded amused, ‘so what makes you and the rest of the world lean towards Toshiro for who you want it to be?’

‘Well, he’s just fucking cute,’ Toshiro hissed at the speaker, he wanted to throw something. There was that damn cute word again. ‘I mean, it’s hard to place exactly, but I think you broke the internet with the video of you humping him against the ice skating rink. How many views has that video got now?’

‘Yeah it’s got like… over 5 million and it only went up a week ago or something,’ he laughed back. ‘Someone’s even remixed it.’

Toshiro groaned and thrust his head into the pillow, his Chinese food had been put on the table. Rangiku laughed and laughed, she laughed so hard they had to pause the pod cast so she could go to the bathroom. When she came back she had her phone clutched in her hand and the remix video playing on repeat

Once she’d settled down and Toshiro felt the heat of his embarrassment dissipate they pressed to resume the pod cast interview.

‘There’s something about him that’s just so strikingly attractive,’ Grace concluded, ‘I can’t put my finger on it, if it’s the white hair the big eyes, the easily embarrassed demeanour or what.’

‘Toshiro is an attractive man and anyone who ends up with him should find themselves incredibly lucky.’ Yukio said and Toshiro felt his heart drop a little in his chest, that didn’t sound like the kind of thing you said about someone you liked?

‘You’re not letting on at all about who you like are you?’

‘Not even in the slightest.’

‘Well, we got sent some fan art I think you should take a look at, I emailed you across some and also there’s some pretty detailed fan fictions being written out there. I’ve not stopped to read them but I have had a couple sent onto me if you want me to send them on?’

‘Fuck it,’ he was howling with laughter, ‘it would give me a chuckle I’m sure pass it on, why the fuck not?’ 

‘So when do you plan on telling this man of yours that you like him?’

‘I thought this show was called Not Too Deep?’

‘Are we getting too deep now?’

‘Yes!’

‘Okay then change of plan, an easy question - what’s your favourite colour?’

‘Turquoise.’

Toshiro frowned, he was so sure the mans favourite colour had been blue before. He’d mentioned it in another Q and A video he did a while back. He turned to Rangiku who was slurping away at her noodles and chicken but stopped the moment she saw his face.

‘What’s wrong?’ she asked him.

‘I was so sure he said in a past video that his favourite colour was blue…’

‘Turquoise isn’t far away from blue…’ she smirked at him, ‘it’s also the colour of your eyes right?

‘Well some may call my eyes a teal or viridian colour…’ he turned back to gaze at the speaker. ‘That doesn’t mean he likes me though maybe he just likes my eyes.’ Toshiro shrugged but there was a little bit of hope bubbling in his chest.

‘Only way we will know is if you _talk_ to him, or better yet! Make a damn move on him.’ Rangiku waved her chopsticks around the room and Toshiro flushed, clutching the pillow closer to his body as he continued to stare at a point in the floor.

‘I couldn’t even make friends,’ he shot back, heat creeping onto his face, ‘I couldn’t even walk up to someone and introduce myself and you think I can… that I’d have the balls too…’ he shook his head violently, ‘no way!’

‘My god you’re so frustrating! Next time I see him I’ll ask him for you.’

‘Don’t you dare-‘

‘Since you don’t have the right bodily parts to do it yourself!’

‘I swear Rangiku please don’t!’

The two friends sat fuming at each other, glaring across the room, they’d been talking over the pod cast and now it drew their attention back again.

‘We’re just about to take a short break but before we do there are two questions I ask everyone who comes on the show. Who – alive or dead – would you most want to throw cold spaghetti at?’

‘Oh man, can I pick Donald Trump?’

‘Hahaha, yeah we’ve had him picked a lot for that question almost as many times as Hitler. Okay next question, tell us in 3 words of 3 very short phrases your worst pant shitting story or close call. For example mine is jogging, college, front lawn.’

‘Oh,’ he laughed and Toshiro groaned lifting his hands to his ears, he wasn’t sure if there was a mental image here he needed to have in his head of the hot blond. ‘Let me think… okay… drunk…’

‘That’s a good start,’ Grace chuckled back as they waited for his next words.

‘Beach… sand in bad places?’

‘Okay no follow up questions,’ they were both laughing and Toshiro winced, only Grace would ask those questions.

They went for a break and Toshiro picked back up his Chinese food again now that it felt the butterflies wouldn’t disturb him.

‘Why don’t you ask him in detail about that pants shitting story? There’s no _way_ he’d tell you it if he was sexually attracted to you, it’s not the kind of thing you talk to someone about if you want to get laid?’

‘It’s not the kind of thing you talk to _anyone_ about, it won’t matter if it is me he won’t talk about that at all.’ Toshiro put the Chinese food back down again, the thought of the detail of that story quickly putting him off his meal.

 _‘Annnnnnnnnd_ we’re back with question from the interwebs,’ Grace sang and Toshiro put the pillow down on the couch and lay out on his stomach, resting his head on it with his feet in the air.

‘Okay, Daniell25 wants to know what is one thing you like and one thing you dislike about all your new friends? I am guessing from this they mean; Rukia, Ichigo, Toshiro and Renji?’

‘Oh man, well… Rukia is always up for fun and getting into mischief because she doesn’t care what anyone thinks and I admire her for that… something I dislike? She’s a terrible cook. Not going to lie she invited me over for dinner one night and nearly poisoned me.’

Toshiro and Rangiku were laughing along with Grace. The snowy haired boy made a mental note never to eat anything Rukia made by herself.

‘Ichigo, I love his happiness, he just oozes it even when something happens he doesn’t like he can rebound in like 10 minutes and I respect that about him. Something I don’t like… he can eat like a horse and not put on an ounce of weight, can’t stand that about him.’

‘What a lucky son of a bitch,’ Grace laughed and Yukio agreed with her.

‘Toshiro…’ the prodigy felt his heart leap into his mouth and he clutched at his pillow as he waited to hear what would be said. ‘I like how caring he is, he comes across as a very closed off person but deep down he’s very sensitive and caring and I find it endearing. Something I don’t like about him? Hmmmm, I guess I’d have to say it’s when he comes across as closed off. Sometimes I just want to ask him what he’s thinking in particular moments because of a certain look in his eye.’

Toshiro clutched at his pillow and Rangiku swooned off the couch and onto the floor, crawling over to him.

‘I’m so convinced it’s you, did you hear the way he spoke? When he spoke about Ichigo he sounded upbeat and happy like he was having a laugh but when he spoke about you,’ she shook her head with a smile, ‘his voice was lower and softer.’

‘That doesn’t mean anything,’ he snorted but he hid his face in his pillow, groaning as her hand made it into his hair to sooth him.

‘Renji is completely reliable, you could ask him for help and he’d be there in an instant but I hate how he had to have the last of everything.’ Yukio clicked his tongue in annoyance, ‘weather it’s the last cookie from the bag or the last slice of pizza he has to have it.’

‘Boy knows what he wants,’ Grace laughed and he chuckled along with her.

‘Okay, ToniAndJery wants to know what is the weirdest thing a fan has ever sent you?’

‘Oh well, about 20 minutes ago I got sent some very graphic fan art pictures from this weirdo and I’m sitting looking at them on my screen right now. Let me tell you they’re pretty graphic, like how anyone expects both Ichigo and Toshiro to be in these positions is beyond me.’

Grace and her production manager in the background were howling with laughter as was Rangiku, Toshiro was groaning with amusement into his pillow feeling both incredibly uncomfortably and amused at the same time.

‘Okay, okay, Iconduct16 has asked, would you rather live in a world where everyone looks like Nicolas Cage or be only attracted to fruit?’

‘Well I do like fruit… so…’ he was thoughtfully, ‘yeah I’d have to go with that. I’d rather have me some fun with a cucumber than with someone who looked like Nicolas Cage.’

‘The mental image Yukio,’ Grace laughed, ‘thank you so much for that.’

‘You’re welcome,’ he mused back.

‘Okay SabrinaWitch has asked what is your favourite Pokemon?’

‘I’d have to say, Lycanroc.’

‘Not heard of that one? Is that like Pikachu?’

‘Is Pikachu the only one you know?’

‘Mostly yeah,’ she laughed and he chuckled at her.

‘Google a picture of it, I can wait,’ there was silence and Toshiro pulled his phone out and quickly looked up the image too. He didn’t play pokemon but it was very clearly some kind of wolf or werewolf looking creature.

‘Oh yeah that looks cool do you like dogs then?’

‘Wolves, I like wolves, I have a wolf tattoo on the top of my thigh.’

‘Seriously?’

‘No, but I’ve thought about it,’ he chuckled and then came the final question of the interview.

‘Okay before we finish just one more question, this comes from me what would be your ideal date? This is just in case the man of your dreams is listening to this pod cast.’

‘Oh man,’ there was a nervous chuckle, ‘well I’d have to say my ideal date would maybe be… either curled up on a couch together watching a movie or going out doing something fun basically anything as long as it ends in a goodnight kiss.’

‘You’re such a romantic,’ Grace swooned back at him.

‘Only because I’d come across as a total prat if I said sex.’

They all laughed including Rangiku but Toshiro had flushed as the interview drew to an end.

‘Wait,’ Toshiro whined, ‘wait was he being serious? I need to know,’ he groaned at the speaker and Rangiku only went back to rubbing his head soothingly playing with his hair which instantly relaxed him.

‘Would it bother you if he went out on a date with you and tried to initiate sex?’ Rangiku asked and Toshiro scowled, shielding his face with his pillow. ‘Because last week when you ran into your room to have a wank right after he left would suggest otherwise.’

How did she KNOW these things?

 

* * *

 

It was very rare these days for Toshiro to get upset. Yes he was sometimes a little discouraged about the fact the boy he had a massive crush on could potentially like someone else, but he was never usually sad. Until today.

It was the 21st of December which meant it was the morning after his birthday and only Rangiku had wished him a happy birthday. She’d bought him his usual, clothing and even got him dinner but he hadn’t had one single text from any of his friends to wish him a happy birthday. He’d waited by his phone right up until it was too late and then he’d let the waves of hurt crash over him. Rangiku had said maybe they’d just forgotten, it was very close to Christmas after all and they probably had other things on their mind. Toshiro clung to his covers and tried not to get too upset, tried to keep the tears away, not even a birthday text. Nothing.

Yukios present was hidden under his bed, Toshiro had been planning it for weeks now and had wrapped it with care a few days ago, knowing that their birthdays were only three days apart. His blurry vision was now on the opposite wall where the pictures of his inspiration were hung above Momo. Signed Tyler Ward and PTX posters lay above his ancient guitar and he tried to focus on them. He’d gotten them when Rangiku had taken him to a gig a couple of years back. Tyler Ward had inspired a lot of his own songs and he’d even done his own cover of the artists song ‘Slo-Mo.’

He just needed to draw some strength just now, enough to get him out of bed, that’s when his phone went off on his side table and he picked it up glancing on the screen to see Rukias number flashing up. A bit of hope returned, maybe they hadn’t forgotten.

‘Hello?’ he answered.

‘Where are you? Yukio’s been texting you all morning he had another youtube emergency he’s at the main audio room of the University right now.’ Toshiro frowned, he was almost angry, was that all he was good for right now? He was about to shout back at her but his feelings of dejection got the better of him and he just huffed in agreement. Getting up and getting changed, he quelled his distain by reminding himself that to help Yukio was to help all the other young boys out there in the world who maybe felt that there was something wrong with being gay.

He bounded into the audio room and threw open the door, Yukio had been grasping at something which had fallen under one of the tables and started when he came in, rising up and smacking his head on the table top with a yelp.

‘Shit- Toshiro,’ he scowled as he pulled out from under the table. If the snowy haired man hadn’t been so damn angry he’d have enjoyed the view of the blonds ass as he was bent over. As it were he was angry so he only half enjoyed it.

‘What video is it this time?’ Toshiro huffed, coming into the room and throwing his laptop bag down on the table above the blond boys head.

‘What?’ Yukio frowned at him, ‘I thought you-‘

Click. Both boys turned to look in the direction of the door.

‘Did someone just?’ Toshiro frowned as he moved back over to the door and tried to open it. It didn’t budge and he scowled.

‘You can both come out when we’re ready,’ came the muffled voice of his short female friend.

‘Rukia, I get it, I know what’s going on now can I come out and help?’ the blond boy had scrambled towards the large door.

‘No you can stay there and distract Toshiro.’

‘How am I meant to do that?’ Yukio scowled at the door as he thudded it rather loudly with a fist.

‘Ohhh, I’m sure you’ll think of _something_ ,’ it was very clear the implications in her voice and Toshiro flushed instantly trying to move away from the door as he heard her take off down the corridor. He just needed something to distract him for a moment until his blush could go away.

‘So what um, are we doing here?’ he asked Yukio his back turned as he went about slowly removing his laptop from its bag.

‘I can’t tell you that, it’s a secret,’ Yukio scowled and Toshiro turned back around seeing him pull out his phone and punch away at some buttons. There was no mistaking the small dusting of pink across his own cheeks.

‘Fine,’ Toshiro didn’t mean to snap, but he had. Yukio looked up at him clearly a bit confused and startled and Toshiro quickly turned away. On any other day he’d have enjoyed being locked away in a room with Yukio, today he almost didn’t have the patience for it, _almost_. He was still casually glancing up to check him out. Even though he was angry and hurt it didn’t mean his eyes had to neglect such a beautiful sight of a being. Yukio was slumped against the back wall, his knees up and his arms resting on them, his phone in front of his face as he tapped away on the small device. They sat doing their own thing for what felt like hours. Soon the prodigy grew bored of what he was doing and had taken to staring at the blond instead. Toshiro knew he was staring a little too long and blushed furiously when the other male looked up. He quickly glanced back down at his own laptop screen, shoving his glasses up his nose as he pretended to look busy.

The blond moved, getting up from the ground and Toshiro kept his eyes on the screen as the blond came behind him, soon Toshiro felt the mans strong chin pressing into his right shoulder as he looked over it.

‘Whatcha doing?’ he drawled into Toshiros ear causing the smaller of the two to shudder.

‘I’m uh… I was just playing some computer chess,’ he mumbled subconsciously pushing his glasses back up his nose.

‘You look so cute when you do that.’

Toshiro sighed in exasperation, he shrugged his shoulder and Yukio quickly pulled back clearly a little startled at the notion.

‘Toshiro?’

‘Don’t call me cute, I hate it.’

‘Why?’

‘Cute is what you call a child, I’m not a child,’ he felt like one having to admit this as he scowled at the blond. ‘Cute isn’t someone you want to have sex with, cute is someone you pat on the head and tuck into bed.’ He folded his arms stubbornly across his chest, realising that his movements caused his glasses to slip further down his nose and he sighed as he had to break his icy demeanour to shove them back up again.

‘You want me to have sex with you?’ Yukio asked, a bit of amusement in his voice. Toshiro felt himself flush instantly.

‘N-no that’s not what I meant!’ he stammered as he left his laptop on the desk to stand up and put a bit of distance between the two of them. The last thing he needed was for Yukio to feel the obvious heat emitting from his own body. ‘Stop putting words in my mouth.’

‘I could put something else in your mouth,’ Yukio smirked, leaning against the back wall and folding his arms across his torso as Toshiros mouth fell open in silent shock. ‘Sorry, so you dislike being called cute because you think it means someone doesn’t want to have sex with you?’

‘I-yes, I guess, I mean not just you everyone. Everyone calls me cute and it just bugs me.’ He tried to correct this so that Yukio didn’t get the wrong idea (or the very _right_ idea).

‘Well I disagree, in a way. Yes cute is someone you want to tuck in at night, but it’s also someone you snuggle down with, kiss and be gentle with.’

‘What if- what if I don’t someone to be gentle with me?’ Toshiro was trying to get his point across, but he couldn’t help the heat creeping up his neck.

‘You think because you’re cute that someone won’t want to roughly fuck you?’ Yukio was so calm having this conversation. Why was he so calm? Why was he smirking? Why wasn’t be mortified by this topic? Toshiro slapped a hand to his forehead and turned away from the blond. It was easier to speak when he wasn’t facing him. This conversation was so inappropriate and something he didn’t want to think about at all while locked up in a room alone with the blond.

‘Yes that’s exactly what I think,’ Toshiro sighed in exasperation.

‘Well,’ Yukio had moved, from the way his voice sounded he was much closer now. Toshiro froze, he did not want to turn around, he did not want to know how close the blond was. ‘I disagree, I think “cute” is the kind of person you want to see come undone. I think cute means someone who isn’t normally vocal which just makes me think about making them scream my name. I think cute implies a certain amount of innocence that’s – in a way – sexually endearing.’ His voice was low and husky and the sound sent shivers up and down Toshiros body. ‘I think cute is a whole lot sexier than someone who’s just “hot.”’

Toshiro burled around as the last word was practically breathed down his neck. The blond was so close and Toshiros ass was pressing on the counter of the mixer. He couldn’t back up any further, he was trapped. Yukio was leaning in, he was so close that Toshiro could practically taste his breath, feel it dusting his lips. He couldn’t even lean back, there was no room, no space. Two hands were placed on the mixing table on either side of Toshiros body and those lips were approximately three inches away… two inches… one inch… Toshiro had shut his eyes. The boy wasn’t even kissing him yet and already heat was pooling in his groin, he was hungrily drinking in the boys breath as their lips were closing that last remaining distance towards each other-

‘KNOCK KNOCK!’ both boys instantly jumped apart and Toshiro felt like throwing something at the door. He’d been so close, _so close._ It wasn’t fair. He quickly looked at Yukio who had flushed.

‘Sorry, are we interrupting something?’ it was Renji and Ichigo. Renji looked smug as fuck and he glanced almost knowingly at Ichigo who looked livid.

‘No,’ Yukio scowled at them stepping far away from Toshiro with a very vivid blush on his face.

‘Well lovebirds,’ Renji drawled out and Ichigo glared up at the taller red head. ‘We have to go, we have something you need to see.’

‘What?’ Toshiro asked instantly but both the other males exited the room clearly not waiting for them to follow. Toshiro was curious now, he ran over and gathered up his things, taking off his glasses and putting them away in his bag.

‘Toshiro listen,’ Yukio walked over to him, ‘about just now?’

‘Yeah?’ Toshiro asked, almost hopefully but the blond threw a look at the door to the room where the other two boys had just been.

‘Sorry, I’m sorry I just got caught up in the heat of the moment. I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable.’ Toshiros face dropped and he stormed past the blond. Heat of the moment? So that hadn’t meant a single thing to him? Next to forgetting his birthday and that the prodigy just wanted to scream out and punch something, he was furious. He stormed off behind Ichigo and Renji after having finally caught up and could feel angry tears bubbling at the back of his eyes. He didn’t even want to look at any of them. He was so mad.

‘Everyone get in,’ Renji smirked holding open his car door for Toshiro to stand and glare at. At first he wasn’t even sure if he wanted to, he wanted to just storm off and be alone and maybe just go back home and cry into his pillow like a teenage girl. He bit his lower lip and scowled at himself, acting like that was exactly why people called him cute and adorable instead of sexy. He got in the damn car.

 

It was weird he was pretty sure they had been driving towards Ichigos but they drove right by the street where the cab had dropped him off that night they were out on the town. Instead Renji seemed to be driving towards… his place? His flat? Toshiro frowned as they parked up beside it, were they just dropping him off? He thought they had something they wanted him to see? Why lock him in a room with Yukio for that long to just drop him off?

‘Why are we at mine?’

‘We’ll tell you once we get inside.’ Renji smirked back at him and led the way up the stairs. How did they know where to go? What was going on? Toshiro and Yukio were ushered through the door that was thrown open by Rangiku.

‘SURPRISE!’ they all called and Toshiro blinked around, his apartment looked like it had been attacked by the party section of an Asda store. Rukia pulled a party popper and Rangiku was pinning Yukio against the wall to wrestle a silly looking party hat onto the top of his head.

‘What’s this?’ Toshiro frowned glancing around at the apartment.

‘It’s a surprise party for you and Yukio since your birthdays are so close together. We know your birthday was yesterday but we were trying to arrange and organise this. We thought it would be more of a surprise to have it the next day.’ Rukia smirked at him, ‘how mad were you?’

‘I was a little upset,’ he couldn’t hide his smile now as he realised what was going on.

‘A day is nothing,’ Ichigo snorted into his ear, ‘one time they left me thinking they’d forgotten mine for a week.’

‘Yeah consider yourself lucky Toshiro my birthday last year Rukia and Ichigo pretended I didn’t exist for a whole 48 hours.’ Renji shook his head, ‘it’s now become a sort of ritual, you don’t know when we will celebrate your birthday we just sort of spring it on you.’

‘We don’t have a lot of people,’ Rukia mumbled, ‘it’s just us but-‘

‘No, no, it’s perfect, excuse me.’ He knew they were sharing glances as he quickly scampered to his room and closed the door, he just needed a moment. Just a moment. They’d thrown him a surprise party. True it wasn’t just for him it was for Yukio too but they’d actually thrown him a party. The last time he had a party it had been thrown by his mother and father and no one from school showed up. They took him out to try and cheer him up but he’d been so crushed. He bit his bottom lip as he tried to push the tears back. People had come. Rukia, Renji, Ichigo, Rangiku and Yukio against his will. They’d arranged this and thrown this for him because they cared.

Biting his lip wasn’t doing enough he could feel the heat in his eyes as a gentle knock rapped on his bedroom door.

‘Toshiro?’ it was Rangiku, she quickly opened the door and slipped in closing it behind her as he stood staring in the direction of his window, his back facing her. ‘Are you alright?’

‘Just give me a moment,’ his voice cracked with emotion and he felt her engulf him from behind. ‘I’ll be fine in a little while,’ he mumbled as he turned around to bury his face into her shoulder. She’d crouched down to hug him so he could avoid motor-boating her by accident.

‘You thought they’d forgotten.’

‘No one apart from you has ever cared before, why should people start now?’ he mumbled into her and she hugged him even tighter.

‘Come on now, your first proper birthday party, lets go and get wasted and do shit we’ll regret because that’s exactly how birthdays are meant to end.’ He laughed and nodded, as he pulled away she attached a party hat to his head which he scowled at. She took his face between her hands and blew cold air over his face to try and banish the heat of the emotion. ‘No one will notice, it’s not noticeable you’ve been crying,’ she confirmed and he sighed and nodded.

‘They’ll ask why I ran off though,’ he panicked not wanting to have to explain to them why he was so emotion. Maybe the world was right… he was fucking cute.

‘What could you come in here for?’

‘I know,’ Toshiros eyes lit up and he dove for his bed, pulling out Yukios birthday present and Rangiku nodded her head.

They exited the room to quite the scene. Rukia and Ichigo were sitting on top of Renjis back as Yukio attempted to strap a party hat to the top of his head. The tallest male was growling and thrashing wildly.

‘Come on, it’s a party you’ve got to wear one.’ Rukia frowned at him as he kicked his legs trying to aim for her.

‘I’m not putting one of those ridiculous things on my head-‘

‘Come on Renji lighten up, I put one on.’ Ichigo chuckled leaning over him as he spoke and attempting to hold his head still for Yukio to finish.

‘Yeah well that’s because you’re a fucking weirdo,’ Renji snarled up at Ichigo and the strawberry frowned at him.

‘And just what’s _that_ supposed to mean?’

‘You wanted me to use-AHHH!’ he was roughly cut off as Ichigo twisted his ear painfully in his hand, Toshiro couldn’t believe the blush that had formed on the strawberrys face.

‘Shut up,’ he hissed in his ear as Yukio finally managed to get the strap of the hat under his jaw, Ichigo let go of his ear in time and the hat snapped onto place on his head. Toshiro was very curious as to what Renji was about to say that was making Ichigo so uncomfortable but gave up as the finally let him up.

‘Toshiro what’s that?’ Rukia asked pointing to the gift in his hands.

‘Oh um, it’s for Yukio, that’s why I went into my room, had to finish it before he saw it.’ Toshiro was suddenly feeling very self conscious now as the blond boy smiled at him stepping forward.

‘You didn’t have to get me anything,’ he muttered and Toshiro shrugged.

‘It’s not much, we can’t afford a great deal but I think you’ll still like it,’ he nodded and Yukio turned around to Rukia.

‘Did you get my text when you locked me in that bloody room?’

‘I got it, Toshiros gift is in the living room don’t worry,’ she rolled her eyes and they made their way into the living room. There was a large gift sitting wrapped against the couch and Toshiro blinked at it.

‘It’s from all of us,’ Yukio said proudly and Rukia scoffed.

‘Yeah but without Yukio it wouldn’t have been possible.’ She replied and they were all tingling in anticipation as Toshiro walked forward, his eyes on the large rectangular gift.

‘Can I open it now?’ he asked eagerly.

‘Go for it,’ Ichigo chuckled and Toshiro dove forward like a child on Christmas day. He eagerly tore at the wrapping and there was an old box… he glanced over at them and they nodded for him to continue. He opened the box and there… was one of the most beautiful guitars he’d ever seen. His eyes went wide, it was a handsome Martin 000-RS1. He was stunning, he stood there in all his handsomeness, his dark polished wood making everything else in the room pale by comparison. This was an expensive guitar and it looked like it had been custom made to suit his size, he was sure the ones he’d seen in the shop were bigger than this. What really caught his eye though was the etched silver scrawls across it, he recognised those signatures, he saw them every day…

‘Tyler Ward… Avi… Scott… Kirstin… Kevin… Mitch… you got them all to sign it?’ he touched the wood tenderly, all the band members of Pentatonix had signed it and Tyler Ward too the youtuber who inspired him to even pick up a guitar.

‘Yeah, I saw the signed pictures in your room, figured you were a fan. They were more than happy too, turns out Scott and Mitch are big fans of mine. We gay youtubers just stick together, they were more than happy to help me out.’ Yukio shrugged and Toshiro turned to look at them all. He could feel the tears stinging at his eyes and saw them all grin knowingly at him. He was mixed, he was still mad at Yukio for what he had said earlier… but this gift… it was hard to be mad at him with this. It was the most thoughtful gift anyone had ever gotten him. Besides the gifts Rangiku got him every year, she was always thoughtful with what she got him. He brought a hand up to rub at his eyes gently as he turned back towards the guitar. He wished they’d do something else, look away or something because he couldn’t stop the small shiver that racked his body as he tried to fight back the emotional tears.

Then he was being engulfed, but this time the hug wasn’t Rangiku, it was Rukia. Then Rangiku followed, then Ichigo, then Yukio and Renji and they were all hugging him and he was being suffocated. Two large tears spilled from the edges of his eyes as he clamped them shut and another shiver ran down his body and he hiccupped slightly.

‘T-thank you all so much,’ he choked out and they all seemed to squeeze tighter. They were like that for a long time until Renji peeled away. His voice sounded hoarse as he mumbled about getting the alcohol. They began to detach from Toshiro one by one and even Rukia ducked away a little quickly, bringing a hand up to her own face.

‘We’re all emotionally pathetic,’ Ichigo drawled before he shook himself and sighed deeply then turned to Yukio. ‘Open your gift I wanna see what he got you.’

‘It’s nothing like this,’ Toshiro said quickly, now feeling like his gift was minor in comparison to what the blond boy had gotten him.

‘Toshiro, don’t be silly anything you got me I’ll appreciate,’ Yukio smiled warmly at him and tore into the gift.

Toshiro had spent a couple of weeks putting together an American care package for Yukio, it contained lucky charms, two bottles of famous wine from Fieldbrook Winery in Northern California, a California T shirt. He’d also gotten a number of other American foods and sweets including Jolly Ranchers and Fritos. He’d bought a box of Golden Nugget cereal which was UK brand but attached a note about it reminding him of the famous gold digging that made California so rich in the first place.

‘Toshiro,’ Yukio mumbled smiling down at all the gifts, ‘this is so sweet of you. The wine,’ he sighed in content picking up a bottle. ‘I’ve not tasted it since I left home.’

‘California is famous for its wine I learned,’ he shrugged his shoulders as he smiled. ‘I know you have a strict diet but I figured any day you feel homesick and want to break the diet…’

‘I’ll be digging into these for sure,’ he held up a massive bag of cheetos with a grin. ‘Thank you.’ Yukio put the stuff to the side and stood up walking directly towards Toshiro. The slightly taller blond pulled him in for a tight hug and Toshiro returned it unable to stop himself from snuggling down into his shoulder and breathing in his scent. God he was delicious. Even if he didn’t want Toshiro and it was just a ‘heat of the moment.’ He’d get his own back for that another night, right now he was just enjoying having the boy so close. He could be upset about that comment later.

This was one of the best belated birthdays Toshiro had ever had. They all tried to make him play his guitar but he’d refused stating he needed to tune it and get used to it and break the strings in but promised to play it for them one day. They’d all got royally plastered and Yukio hugged his bottle of Californian wine at some point. They’d all tried a sip and it was delicious but he wasn’t letting them have anymore than just one sip.

They’d done birthday cakes, embarrassingly enough the cake that came out for Yukio had a massive Youtube play button on it and the one that came out for Toshiro had musical notes all over it. Ichigo was proud to admit that it had been he and Rukia who had made them. They were a little dry but otherwise really good and because they were made by friends they were some of the best cake Toshiro had ever eaten.

They’d wound Yukio up about his pod cast, and he borrowed Toshiros laptop to log into his emails. He pulled up the fan art pictures he’d been sent and also the fan fiction stories. The fan art pictures were not the most realistic, some sketches weren’t half bad but the sexual content in the pictures had Toshiro scampering to the kitchen out of sheer embarrassment. Nothing could have prepared him for the blond reading out one of the fan fictions though. It was so full of smut and so detailed, a threesome between Yukio, Ichigo and himself and Toshiro had to beg for them to stop. It was weird having porn read to you in a room full of friends, they’d all panned it off as Toshiro feeling uncomfortable but truth probably was that every man in the rooms jeans had probably gotten tighter.

Overall the night went well and Yukio invited them to his for a new years party after Christmas. In a drunken haze they’d agreed and soon after were calling taxis to take the drunken friends home.

Toshiro stretched out in his bed feeling very drunk but also very loved, very cared for. The only person who ever made him feel that way after his parents and Gran was Rangiku and now it was nice to share, to share his experiences with other people. Toshiro reached over to his bedside cabinet and opened his drawer pulling out an old photo of his parents and tracing their faces with his finger. His mother had wild white hair just like him and striking blue eyes. His father had curly brown hair and bright green eyes, they both looked happy. Toshiro brought the picture down to his pillow to snuggle into it and started to talk out loud. Telling them what had happened that day. He spoke and spoke until at some point he drifted off to sleep, their picture clutched in his tiny hand and a smile present on his face.


	8. Oh Shit?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We finally find out... and I'm so sorry =(

Christmas was cute, Toshiro was determined that he had made some kind of progress with Yukio, even if they were both drunk. He’d frantically gone to Rangiku and told her to make sure he didn’t do anything dumb if he was having a drink. Rangiku agreed to keep an eye on him and so decided to not drink at all over the festive period, in return Toshiro was to be the designated driver for Yukios New Year Party so Rangiku could drink then. It was a fair exchange, Toshiro just really wanted some alcohol since all he could think about was making the day as good as it could be with Yukio without being too awkward and stiff.

 

Yukio had come over really late on Christmas Eve, he’d apologised but stated he had to help another youtuber with a video and was still doing Skype calls to his friends in America. Toshiro tried not to fan girl when Tyler Oakley had called Yukio on Skype to wish him a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

‘You at your parents?’ Yukio asked him as Toshiro busied himself in the kitchen.

‘Yeah,’ the distant and recognisable voice of the internet sensation chided back. ‘Where are you?’

‘Spending Christmas with Toshiro.’

‘ _Ohhhhh_ ,’ the voice laughed and Yukio snorted.

‘Not like that, him and his friend Rangiku invited me.’

‘Is he there, can I see him?’ Toshiro felt the tips of his ears going red as Yukio called him through to the living room. Tyler Oakley was on the screen back to his regular blond hair instead of his dyed blue and Toshiro smiled and offered him a shy wave.

‘Hey gurl,’ Tyler called to him and Toshiro grinned, heat rising into his cheeks.

‘Hey, it’s nice to meet you, sort of, I hope you’re having a good Christmas Eve?’ he didn’t know what the fuck to say, what did you say to a celebrity? Yukio had the entire laptop facing him and was making really distracting kissing noises from behind the camera.

‘Yeah we are, are you taking care of Yukio?’

‘I’m going to try and get some decent food in him that doesn’t come from a packet and isn’t just grilled chicken yeah,’ Toshiro mumbled shyly and Tyler threw back his head and laughed with glee.

‘Oh my gosh, come closer to the camera you’re so fucking cute let me see you,’ Tyler was leaning closer to the camera and Toshiro tried not to scowl at that word again as he moved forward. ‘Oh my god you’re actually stunning, Yukio if you don’t want him I’ll have him-‘

Toshiro squeaked and ran back to the kitchen, he heard both men laughing in the living room and had to wonder if all American guys were just that forward.

It was agreed that none of them would buy Christmas presents for each other, instead they simply went about putting money towards a lot of good food and alcohol. The idea was to get rather drunk and eat themselves into oblivion. Toshiro had put on his teal coloured apron and was getting the soup ready for the next day, it would be easier if he had one less thing to worry about. Plus if anyone was hungry they could have some before bed tonight.

Yukio came through and offered to help after his call with Tyler Oakley and Toshiro brandished knife at him.

‘You’re the guest you don’t cook,’ he smiled as he turned back to chopping vegetables.

‘What soup are you making anyway?’ Yukio asked holding up a bottle of vodka with a quirked eyebrow.

‘Rangikus favourite, Hot Bloody Mary soup.’

‘Isn’t bloody Mary meant to be a drink?’

‘Yeah, exactly,’ he pulled the bottle of vodka from the blonds grip and put it back down on the table.

‘What a weird soup,’ he was hovering around and Toshiro tried not to think about how amazing it would be to be his househusband. Cooking for him and making sure he actually had his washings done. Ironing his things and just generally looking after him.

‘Since you’re cooking would you like a glass of wine?’ Yukio asked leaning dangerously close to Toshiro to reach over for a couple of wine glasses.

‘Yeah sure,’ Toshiro mumbled, ‘just one tonight though I want to save the rest for tomorrow.’

They stayed in the kitchen chatting away about movies and the book Yukio had borrowed; In Other Situations by Kuroneko Hikage. Rangiku came in at one point and squealed when she realised what soup Toshiro was making, she’d engulfed him in such a tight hug that had Yukio howling with laughter.

Rangiku had tried to have Yukio and Toshiro sleep in the same bed together but Toshiro scolded her and insisted that Yukio sleep in his bed. Yukio wasn’t having any of it though as a gentleman he stated that it would be rude of him to push someone from their bed and he brought along a blow up mattress. They all took turns blowing the bed up and made it a competition, Rangiku made sure that Yukio didn’t miss the fact that Toshiro blew the longest. Of course this resulted in another bright red face for the little genius before they all went to bed.

It was weird knowing that Yukio was sleeping in the other room. He’d often wondered what the boy would look like sleeping but didn’t want to creepily go and check on him. He was an early riser though and he assumed Yukio wasn’t if his time of youtube uploads and University arrivals were anything to go by. So maybe Toshiro could wake up early the next morning, slip into the living room and watch him sleep for a few moments, would that be too weird? He imagined he was sprawler, someone who took up all of the bed, perhaps someone who lay on their back all night, snoring lightly. Scotland was cold this time of year too, so he imagined he wouldn’t sleep naked especially not in someone else’s living room but he’d be all bundled up in the covers creating his own blanket of warmth.

Why was he spending so long thinking about this? About the way the blond boy was probably sleeping right now? Why did he even care? His heart panged a little in his chest as he turned in his bed and curled up. It was just a crush, a devastatingly heartbreakingly crushing crush. The blond had said that near kiss had been a mistake so Toshiro had been trying to avoid ending up in that position with him again. If Yukio kissed him and then decided he didn’t want him Toshiro would not be able to cope with that outcome. It was better to be wishful than to know what could have been and have it taken away. He still owed the blond some kind of revenge for that though but he decided to wait until after his birthday and Christmas to deliver it. He wasn’t that much of a dick that he’d take revenge at this time of the year. Yukio didn’t have a family, he had a youtube family but not a proper family and neither did Toshiro so Christmas was extra important to them. They needed to stick together then Toshiro could have his revenge. What he was planning to do? He had no idea yet.

 

He woke with a start and glanced at his clock, it was just shy of 8am, and this was a lie in for him. He pushed himself out of bed and quickly stepped in front of his mirror. He didn’t want to look like he’d tried too hard to look good first thing in the morning but also didn’t want to look a fucking state. He quickly tried to tame some of his wild spikes and threw on another t shirt and put on some deodorant. He managed to slip quietly into the bathroom to brush his teeth and grabbed his laptop and glasses from his bedroom as he made his way into the kitchen. It would be rude to walk into the living room where their guest was sleeping and wake him up but Toshiro knew he’d also get to see him from the kitchen.

Yukio didn’t sleep at all like Toshiro thought. The blond was resting peacefully on his stomach, his face turned towards the kitchen with such a calm looking expression.  He was sprawled a little, the covers must have been kicked off at some point and the corner of the cover came to rest across the backs of his ass and thighs. He’d worn a pair of dark grey cotton jogging trousers to bed and an old t-shirt, the shirt was bundled up around his torso from where he must have been moving about and exposed the smooth curve of his lower back. His blond hair stuck out wildly and attractively about his face and his bare feet poked out the bottom part of the covers. Now if this was Toshiros fantasies he would go over there, straddle that ass and run his hands up and down the mans back, under his shirt to wake him up. However it wasn’t and so Toshiro decided to enjoy the view while it was presented to him.

The back was a nice reveal, he never saw it in a video before because the camera was always pointed at his face but he could now tell the boy had a faint reminiscent of a tan line as his trousers sat slightly askew on his hips. Either he was going to a tan bed or the tan had managed to survive several months in the Scottish climate without disappearing entirely. It gave his back more of an exotic look, two cute little back dimples rested above the waist of his trousers and the tight skin was pulled over pure muscle, following the delicate curve of his posture. This was ridiculous, Toshiro could feel heat pooling in his groin, he was getting hard from a back. Not even a fully exposed back, half a back. Half a back was getting him hard?

He quickly turned around and grabbed three cups out of the cupboard, it wouldn’t be long before they’d wake up. He put the coffee machine on and set it to a long slow brew so it wouldn’t disturb anyone too much. He also decided to pull some ingredients out the freezer that he would need to start cooking for dinner later and that’s when a yawning Yukio slumped round the corner.

‘What are you doing up at this time?’ he asked, and Toshiro turned to him, shuffling his bare feet on the cold tiled floor of the kitchen.

‘I always wake up at this time, this is actually a lie in for me,’ he replied and Yukio stretched his arms up into the air. The movement caused the bottom half of his t shirt to lift up revealing his beautiful abs and trail of sexy light blond hair disappearing down into the waistband of his trousers. Toshiro tried not to stare and he quickly glanced around find something to distract himself.

‘This is far too early, I think you should go back to bed until at least 10am,’ Yukio mumbled and Toshiro smiled.

‘I doubt I’d be able to get back to sleep.’ Toshiro said with a hint of amusement at the half awake man before him. Yukio didn’t even look like he was fully awake yet and frowned at Toshiro.

‘Alright then,’ he mumbled, ‘I’m up, I’m up.’ He wasn’t really though, he shuffled back through to the living room and fell back asleep on the couch with the TV on. Christmas movies were on all day and the first one playing in the background when Toshiro came through was Jingle all the Way. He sat down on the couch with his laptop and put his glasses on as Yukio stirred.

‘You’re very cute when you’re tired.’ Toshiro offered bravely, trying to use the same word that everyone kept insisting to use for him.

‘Thank you,’ Yukio mumbled with a chuckle as he curled up at the edge of the couch. Toshiro was refusing to look at him, he didn’t want to be caught staring so he just pushed his glasses further up his nose and went about browsing Amazon. It was getting close to the time when Rangiku normally woke up that he glanced up to check the light of the coffee maker in the kitchen. Yukio quickly looked away and Toshiro eyed him for a moment. The blond was now watching the TV but Toshiro was sure he’d just been staring at him.

‘Good morning,’ Rangiku yawned as she walked into the living room.

‘Morning? It’s nearly afternoon Ran,’ Toshiro scowled at her.

‘That’s a regular person’s morning Toshiro,’ she frowned at him and Yukio nodded enthusiastically.

Toshiro ignored them and went about making them all coffee. They put Yukios blow up bed up against the wall in the hall and brought out the dining room table which was normally shoved into a corner. Toshiro had made them lay the table and make it look nice then left them to chat and watch TV while he cooked in the kitchen.

‘It smells amazing in here Toshiro, are you sure you don’t need a hand?’ Rangiku asked sticking her head around the corner. A few moments later and Yukio had comically done the same, appearing under her red hair so it mixed with his blond.

‘Looking good in an apron Tosh,’ Yukio chuckled and Toshiro made a face at him.

‘Looking good with red hair Yuki,’ he muttered back and turned back around to get on with cooking.

For the better part of three hours Toshiro cooked away, he took a break after an hour or two to go and get properly dressed since both Rangiku and Yukio had as well. Then he returned to the kitchen to continue cooking, he was more than thankful when they all finally settled down to dinner. The first course being the bloody Mary soup which Yukio and Rangiku both enjoyed.

‘It doesn’t even taste like it has alcohol in it,’ Yukio sighed contently as they finished and Rangiku cleared the table while Toshiro got the main meal ready.

‘Toshiro would make an amazing house wife,’ Rangiku muttered and Toshiro pretended to not hear her as he finally brought through the plates. Barely a word was spoken as they ate; they ate and ate and ate. It was the most Toshiro had eaten in a long time and he actually had to pop the top button of his jeans. They pulled crackers, told silly jokes and put on the ridiculous party hats.

‘I don’t think I’ve got any room for desert,’ Rangiku groaned after she finally set down her knife and fork.

‘I’ve not eaten this well in years,’ Yukio muttered and leaned across the table towards Toshiro, his cheeks were dusted pink as they were all now on their third bottle of wine with the meal. ‘Thank you, this was amazing, can I take some of the leftovers home with me?’

‘Sure,’ Toshiro nodded to him, ‘I’ll text you across proper storage and re-heating instructions so you don’t get sick.’ He mumbled as he laid slumped back in his seat. Miraculously, Yukio managed to continue to eat, it was quite the sight and Toshiro was sure it had something to do with the fact the boy was always working out. The desert was a home baked cheesecake, Toshiro had made it because in comparison to the rest of the meal it was quite easy to make. Yukio surprised them by managing to finish his entire slice then complained that he couldn’t move from the dining room chair while Rangiku and Toshiro slipped off to sit on the more comfortable couch to watch a series of other Christmas movies including The Santa Claus and Elf.

Halfway through Elf Yukio finally removed himself from the chair and asked if he could change back into his jogging trousers since his jeans were pressing into his gut. Toshiro and Rangiku quickly scampered off to do the same and invited him to spend one more night since they had all been drinking. True to her word, Rangiku had stopped after her third glass so she could keep an eye on Toshiro, but she wasn’t doing a very good job of it. Toshiro was constantly straying to stare at Yukio rather obviously but the blond boy was rather intoxicated himself as he poured him and Toshiro a sixth or seventh… seven came after six right? Glass… of something… wine! That was it. He inhaled the scent as Yukio handed the glass to him aware he was getting a lot more drunker.

‘Yukio,’ he chuckled pointing at the screen, ‘we could pass as elves we’re both so short,’ he sighed and frowned.

‘Yup, but you’re… way shorter than me,’ he chuckled back, his Christmas cracker hat still on his head as he shook it quickly from side to side. He tried to glance up as the hat got caught on the fabric of the couch and it stayed in place as his head moved, resulting in the hat moving onto his face and over his eye.

Toshiro snorted into his glass of wine, it was very clear the man was drunk, he took the hat off and turned to glare at Toshiro who continued to chortle into his glass of wine.

‘You’re so mean,’ Yukio slurred at him.

‘I am not, I-I’m very kind. Tell him how kind I am Rangiku.’ He turned to his strawberry friend for help and she pursed her lips and smirked at them.

‘You’re both hammered,’ she replied and Toshiro took a sharp intake of breath in.

‘The indignity, I-I’d never say that about you when it clearly wasn’t true.’ He waved his glass at her and sloshed a little onto the floor. He looked down at the droplets and frowned, turning to look back up at the ceiling. Had someone just dripped wine from the roof? Because no way in hell did it come from his glass, his hands were steady.

‘It clearly is true,’ she stretched out and picked up her phone, ‘it’s well after 11pm now, we’ve been watching movies and crap TV all day, I’m going to go to bed and _you-‘_ she shot a look at Toshiro who happily finished this glass of wine with a final slurp. ‘Should stop drinking and go to bed as well.’

‘I’ll look after him he’ll be fine,’ Yukio mumbled waving his hand, ‘you go to bed and have a- a good night sleep,’ he slurred. She sighed but otherwise smirked a little at Toshiro as she rose to leave the room. Wasn’t she meant to be looking after him? Toshiro frowned after her, he was pretty sure they’d agreed something like that but- oh a penny. He practically threw himself over the table and onto the carpet. Someone dropped it, good luck for him. He held it proudly into the air.

‘Behold, the lucky penny,’ he waved it about frantically and when he brought his hand back down it had gone. Like magic. It was a magic penny. He glanced around the room looking for it and Yukio laughed at him.

‘Help me get the blow up bed back in,’ he asked throwing a pillow at the back of Toshiros head.

‘Fine.’

Once the blow up bed was back in the living room he found both Yukio and himself laying on it in such weird positions they may as well have been playing a game of twister. Toshiro was lying on his side and part of his stomach as he curled around at the bottom of the bed and Yukio lay flat out over the mattress from one side of it to the other, his legs on the floor and his ass resting against the edge of the bed.

Yukio was attempting to sing a Christmas song, badly and it made Toshiro happy to hear that despite being beautiful and charming the boy had no talent when it came to singing.

‘I should get my ass to bed,’ Toshiro mumbled into the covers, his lids dropping lazily over his eyes.

‘You should get your-‘ Yukios hand came up and smacked him on the ass, ‘ass to bed,’ he chuckled but the hand stayed where it was. Toshiros body was numb with alcohol but the resounding smack had travelled up and down his body and now the feeling of the boys’ hand lingering there was stirring him back into a more sober state.

‘Did you just want an excuse to hit my ass?’

‘I wanted an excuse to do a lot more than that.’

‘You’re drunk.’

‘Yes I am.’

Toshiro went to lift his hand off his ass, his brain only half processing what was actually going on, when he shoved the hand away it came right back to rest on his right ass cheek again.

‘If you want to feel my ass why didn’t you just say?’ Toshiro mumbled with a sigh.

‘Don’t say something that will turn me on, I’m too full to get horny.’

Whoa. Where did that come from? Suddenly the hand on his ass had a completely different meaning and somewhere through his drunk haze he could feel some sober alarm bells sounding.

‘People don’t sleep with cute guys remember?’ he mumbled sleepily into the cover. Yukio groaned and rolled over to stare at him.

‘I like cute guys, I prefer them. I like making them scream my name, beg me, plead with me for more.’ The smell of wine was washing over Toshiro from his breath and the prodigy shuddered. ‘I would happily take you across my bed any time Toshiro,’ he chuckled lying back down and removing his hand while Toshiro lay trying to digest his words.

‘Do you enjoy teasing people,’ Toshiro wasn’t sure why he was feeling angry and upset. Was Yukio flirting with him? Was this what he was like with Ichigo? Did it mean something? He wanted to believe that it did but he was too drunk right now to properly entertain half the ideas running through his mind.

‘Yes I do,’ Yukio chuckled, ‘I love teasing people, you’ve no idea.’

Toshiro scowled and sat up shaking his head, he wasn’t going to sit here and have his heart toyed with that’s for sure.

‘I’ve had too much to drink, I’m going to bed.’ He mumbled and Yukio watched with a rather drunk expression as Toshiro removed himself from the living room. He only just collapsed on his bed when he drifted off to sleep almost immediately.

 

* * *

 

 

The next few days passed in a haze and before they knew it, it was time to get ready for Yukios new years party. This was the most social Toshiro had ever been in his life, thanks to his new friends. As promised Toshiro drove Rangiku and himself there and vowed not to drink though he did give her a scolding for the poor job she did looking after him with Yukio. She’d finally admitted that she hoped something would have happened between them if she left.

Yukio had text them the address and they pulled up outside a posh looking set of flats. Toshiro knew that Yukios place was large from the videos he’d sent him but the penthouse apartment he walked into was more than he expected. It had about 4 large bedrooms, a massive open plan kitchen and living room, another large room that was clearly meant to be for a dining room. Both the dining room and living room had large patio doors that went out onto a rooftop terrace that had several comfortable looking seats and a beautifully stunning view of the castle and city.

The party was in full swing when they arrived and they realised Ichigo had invited the other photography students as well as a few people who had studied media last year but dropped out. A few of their friends were already rather drunk and it surprised Toshiro the most to see Professor Ukitake and Shunsui at the party too along with a number of the other professors.

‘We’re kind of treating this as a nice end of year without it being the end of year party for you guys,’ Shunsui said as he took a large gulp of whatever punch was sitting in the bowl. It had amused Toshiro that there was punch, it was such an American thing to do.

‘It’s nice to see some of the other students too,’ Ukitake said and Toshiro grinned at him. They stood chatting for a long time until Rangiku grabbed Toshiro away and steered him towards one of the back bedrooms.

‘What’s going on?’

‘We’re playing poker, I need you.’

‘Alright,’ Toshiro laughed and slipped into the room with his other friends. They were all sat around a table at the back of the room. Renji and Ichigo on one side, Rukia settling on the other, at the very head of the table with his back to the door was Yukio. Toshiro turned and watched his tall friend lock the door winking at him as she did so.

‘I didn’t think Toshiro would agree to this,’ Ichigo laughed as Toshiro frowned making his way over towards the table.

‘I love poker,’ he frowned and Ichigo bit his lower lip in amusement and Renji leaned over the table to where Rangiku was now sitting beside Rukia.

‘You didn’t tell him this was strip poker did you?’ Renji said and instantly Toshiro turned around and walked back towards the door. Like hell was he playing that.

‘Told you he wouldn’t,’ Yukios voice teased and Toshiro stopped, his hand on the doors lock. ‘Cute guys don’t play adult games.’

Oh? Toshiro turned around slowly, watching the reactions on his friends’ faces. Ichigo looked somewhat amused as did Renji as they watched him. Rukia looked intently and Rangiku was smirking at him. The blond still had his back turned but even just with the back of his head on display Toshiro knew he was grinning smugly.

That fucking, son of a… Toshiro narrowed his eyes. Revenge. He owed the boy, he owed him for the fleeting comments, the teasing the leading him on. He owed him for the restless nights the wet dreams and every time he could have kissed him but didn’t. Toshiro turned back towards the table and watched as Rangiku grinned at him and gave him an encouraging nod of her head. He was going to ruin him. He was going to have Yukio naked by the end of this while protecting Rangiku and he was going to ensure that the boy was left completely exposed. Toshiro took the other chair at the end of the table and everyone turned to Yukio who was smirking at the playing cards in his hand.

‘Rules are simple, we use clothing like chips. You can choose to keep the clothes you win or trade them with someone who has your own, any clothes you win back you can use to cover yourself, jewellery accessories do not count, neither do socks.’ Yukio rattled off as he dished out the cards, it was clearly Texas holdem.

The game started out innocently, belts were shed, shoes and hats and scarfs. Toshiro kept an eye on Rangiku who was sat directly to his left and Rukia who was sat on her other side. What kind of a gentleman would he be if the ladies get exposed?  

Toshiro won the first round with three of a kind. At this moment everyone could tell he was a prodigy in the game too and that’s exactly what he needed - their attention. He spotted their tells straight away, Rangiku would take an extra long sip of her drink, Rukia flicked her hair across her left shoulder – only her left. Ichigo was easy, he would smirk all over the place – the idiot. Renji was a little harder to figure out, it took Toshiro halfway through round two to realise that Renji would glance to his right, to where Ichigo sat opposite Rukia. Yukio would tilt back twice on his chair.

In the second round he smirked around at them all, raising the stakes with a few of the bits of clothing he’d won from the first round, people were folding all over the place afraid to lose too many clothing but the game was set with a blind bet so that each round you had to put something in right at the beginning. It meant if you didn’t want to end up naked you’d be forced to take a chance at some point. The second round he made sure Rangiku won by upping the stakes so the rest bailed, he then folded to allow her to take the prize despite having a flush in his hand.

He still had clothing left from winning the first round and now things were taking a different turn, Rukia folded early once she was forced to shed her cardigan. The three other boys were desperate now and they all choose to stay in the game, shedding their tops off onto the table. Toshiro knew he’d have to win this one, Rangiku knew his tell and he tugged gently at his ear, he had a good hand. She folded to stop herself having to lose any more clothing. Next round he’d have to help Rukia and as he briefly met Rangikus eyes he glanced in the other girls direction and Ran gave him a double blink. She understood.

For now he focused on this current match, he was pretty sure he could bluff his way to winning but he wouldn’t need to. He had a good hand already, all that would make it better would be-

‘Next card, 5 of diamonds.’ Yukio said as he flipped the card over on the table. Toshiro did not let any sign away as he watched them place their bets. Ichigo stood up and pulled his jeans off, he’d joined the game with minimal clothing and they all watched in amusement as he pulled the jeans down to reveal a tight black pair of boxers that did not leave much to the imagination. Toshiro frowned and glared down at his cards when he noticed Yukio smirking and not even trying to be subtle as he blatantly stared at the other males clothed groin.

They flipped over their cards, the stupid strawberry had a pair of queens. Renji smirked with his pair of kings. Yukio sighed and tossed his cards in the middle with a scowl, either he didn’t have anything or nothing that could beat Renjis pair of kings.

‘Toshiro?’ Rukia asked and he flipped over his pocket pair of fives.

‘Three of a kind wins,’ Rangiku chuckled and they all smirked at Ichigo. Next round he was getting naked. The strawberry was now blushing and this round Yukio and Renji were forced to put their jeans up for grabs. Toshiro enjoyed the show as he sat there fully clothed, Yukio stood up and Toshiro got a beautiful view of his torso which was even more defined than he’d seen in any video. He was definitely the most well built person at the table. He even noticed Rangiku and Rukia staring as he undid his buttons and pulled his jeans down and off. His legs looked almost shaved because the hairs were just as blond as the ones on his midriff and head. He wore a slightly loser pair of boxers which – unlike Ichigos – showed them nothing in terms of what was hidden beneath. No matter, Toshiro would have him naked next round for sure. For this round though, Ichigo remained seated as he shed his pair of boxers and covered himself meekly with his own hands. He was blushing furiously but refused to give up. Underwear being shed meant someone could stay in the game even if stakes were raised beyond what they could afford, it was one of the rules of their game. Toshiro was determined to let Rukia win this pile of clothing.

His plan backfired, he’d tried to raise the stakes to have Rukia win, Rangiku backed out early keeping a small pile of clothing she’d won when Toshiro helped her and knowing that he wasn’t going to let her win this round. He tried to psych out Yukio who was the last player in the game but instead Rukia folded, having lost her t shirt and Toshiros pocket aces were not enough to beat the flush Yukio had.

‘Finally, lost a round Toshiro,’ Yukio smirked, ‘your will to want to protect Rangiku and Rukia makes you vulnerable, there’s too many people at this table you’ll sacrifice yourself for that’s why you will never fold.’ He smirked and Toshiro scowled, clearly the blond was more astute than he’d given him credit for. Yukio pulled his pile of clothing over to his side of the table and clothed himself in Renjis t-shirt, since Toshiro had his in his pile of winnings.

Ichigo was now out the game and forced to sit naked until the game was over. Toshiro was sure that Renji kept glancing to the right and now Toshiro wasn’t sure if that was a tell or because he was genuinely trying to catch sight of Ichigos exposed cock.

After winning two rounds Toshiro had the biggest pile of clothing including most of his own that he still had to remove. Renji was now forced out of his boxers as well, he made much more of a show of it though. Standing up as he pulled them down and Toshiro did his best not to watch. He could feel embarrassment creeping up his own neck and across his face despite it not being him who was getting naked. The girls were giggling and when he looked around – after Renji sat down – Ichigos face was on fire and Yukio was using his two cards to hide the smirk as he glanced at the strawberry. Had Yukio and Ichigo done something while Renji was removing his boxers? Toshiro frowned down at his hand and clutched them tightly in malice. He was going to win this. Rukia ducked out, she could tell the game was coming to an end and offered her skirt over, so she sat in her leggings and bra and Toshiro felt like he’d failed her. Rangiku was still alright, she made eye contact with Toshiro and knew he was taking this round right to the end. It was between him and Yukio. Rangiku had folded early too, Renji had gone all in with his boxers and Yukio wasn’t backing down. He put all the clothing in he had and Toshiro put in a pile to match. When the last card was about to be flipped Toshiro smirked.

‘I go all in,’ the table snapped around to look at him, by doing this Yukio now had no option but to strip. He could fold and lose to Toshiro leaving him in his boxers with some dignity but he was too stubborn… too proud and Toshiro could see it written all over his face. He had tilted back in his chair three times that meant he was sure he had a good hand, Toshiro was more than certain it was flush because he was showing the exact same behaviour he had when he had one before. If that was the case and - Toshiro was willing to bet everything it was - then he was going to win.

Yukio fidgeted and pulled the t-shirt off from his head throwing it into the centre of the table, then there was some movement below the table and his boxers were placed on it. Toshiro scowled as Ichigo leaned to the side and grinned as Yukio used his hands to pick up his cards rather than cover himself. Whatever sight Ichigo was seeing he was sure it was some sight.

Toshiro sighed, for him to match a bet of underwear he’d have to offer up double the amount of clothing already on the table, which meant-

‘Off with the shirt Mr Prude,’ Renji chuckled beside him. Gods Toshiro wished the crimson red head would at least _attempt_ to cover himself up. He placed his hands behind his head though and let it all hang out. Toshiro could see the mans dark pubic hair in his peripheral vision and it was taking a dangerous amount of self control not to glance at it. He lowered his cards to the table and removed the buttons of his shirt, standing up to peel it off. His eyes were on Yukio, he couldn’t see what lay beneath the table of the naked man but he was watching that emerald eye drink in the sight of his now exposed body. Toshiro was self conscious, he was thin, he didn’t have the abs and pecks and big arms of the boy across the table but he did have some mild definition of his lower abdomen from years of cycling and snowboarding. That emerald eye lowered to where a delicate V muscle disappeared down into Toshiros jeans, it was in _no way_ defined but it was subtlety sitting there, begging to be looked at.

‘Don’t stare Yukio it’s rude,’ Rangiku smirked and instantly the blond scowled and returned back to his game face as Toshiro sat back down in the chair. His torso exposed and the urge to hug himself to try and shield his skin was overwhelming.

‘Reveal your cards,’ Rukia chuckled and Yukio smirked tossing down a flush, just as Toshiro had predicted. He might as well play along. He pretended to look devastated and Yukio laughed in sheer delight, then Toshiro tossed down his cards. A pair of kings and three sevens…

‘A full house wins the game,’ Rukia laughed and everyone was laughing as Yukio glared at him from across the table.

‘Now,’ Toshiro gathered all the clothes up into his hands and launched them across the opposite end of the room. With a laugh Rangiku did the same to the small pile she had left. The three boys glared at him and he smirked, putting his shirt back on which he’d kept for himself. Now all three males were forced to stand up and head to the back of the room to try and sift through their clothing. Toshiro waited for them, a smug expression on his face, his eyes only on Yukio. He wanted the blond to know he was going to be watching him and only him while this happened. Colour erupted over Yukios face and he scowled at the prodigy.

‘Fuck you, I don’t care,’ he flipped Toshiro off as he stood up and Toshiro bit down hard on his bottom lip. The other two men on his right had stood up as well, Ichigo attempting to cover himself and Renji and Yukio did not giving two shits. Despite the colour creeping up his neck and across his cheeks Toshiro allowed himself to look now. Properly look, and enjoy. Renji was clearly massive it was no wonder he didn’t give a shit about walking around with that monster dangling between his legs.

Seeing Yukio naked was a treat Toshiro knew he’d probably never get to see ever again, a treat that over 8 million people would trade anything to see. The boys flawless muscles flowed down to a beautiful looking cock even though it was flaccid Toshiro could tell it was bigger than his own. It sat nestled in a beautifully trimmed nest of blond hair. Though each of their members weren’t erect it was still easy to compare the penis’ sizes of them all. Ichigo was covering his because… Toshiro threw back his head and laughed. Ichigo was covering his because he was _hard._ Why oh why? Perhaps because Yukio was but naked and yet Ichigo wasn’t even watching the blond, he was attempting to dress as quickly as he could while Toshiro, Rukia and Rangiku laughed at them. When Yukio turned to walk to the bottom of the room Toshiro had to steady himself on the table, he was so glad he was fully clothed because his trousers were hiding his erection from view. Yukio bent over and gave them all a perfect view of his ass, he had wonderfully round cheeks that met the curve of his back beautifully.

He had to stop staring but he couldn’t help it, he was enjoying this far too much, his own unique revenge. Once dressed Ichigo practically flew from the room and Yukio tore off after him. Renji seemed to do the same, running off and Toshiro shook his head and turned to Rukia with an apologetic smile.

‘Sorry Rukia, I tried to stop you having to shed anything,’ he started.

‘Don’t be silly, besides this was _well_ worth it.’ He smirked and nodded to her response as they stood up and went to enjoy the party. Toshiro didn’t see the other boys after that, he figured they were out on the roof with some of the photography students and he spent time in the living room with Rangiku watching to make sure her and Rukia didn’t get too drunk. Renji and Rukia were going to be walking home together and only stayed about a street away, Rukia denied a lift so many times as Toshiro could easily see how drunk Rangiku was getting and knew he’d have to get her home soon.

At some time after 2am, after they’d counted down the bells and wished everyone a happy new year Rangiku bolted for the toilet and threw up. That was the signal that they needed to leave, Toshiro was used to the girl having too much to drink and wished she’d know her own limit. He managed to get a glass of water down her throat when the retching stopped and got her to her feet to wait for him beside the apartment door.

‘I’ll just go and tell Yukio we’re leaving,’ he muttered to her as he went looking for the boy. He wasn’t out on the roof and he wasn’t in the living room / kitchen area. Toshiro made his way to the room that was obviously meant to be a dining room but had been set out as the disco room and walked in.

The music was blaring and there was a very large disco light spinning around the room, the only source of light coming from this and the streetlights outside. Bodies were bouncing in time to the music and that’s when Toshiro saw them.

Yukio was sitting on a table, his legs tightly wrapped around the taller male, one of his hands wrapped around his back and the other buried deep into the strawberry blond locks of the taller male. They moved their position, Ichigo clearly grinding against the blond and Yukio tilted his head the other way to allow Ichigo better access to his mouth. It was obvious the strawberrys tongue was down Yukios throat and the blond was smirking into the kiss happily engulfing the tongue into his mouth, swallowing as if he couldn’t get enough, sucking on it. The look on his face was pure joy same with Ichigos too and Ichigos hands were all over the blond, one up under his shirt grazing his lower abdomen, Ichigo thrust once more into him and the blond groaned into the kiss, throwing back his head as Ichigo latched onto his neck…

Toshiro had to get out of there, he needed air. The room was swirling and he scampered away, he could feel his cheeks growing red but it wasn’t because of embarrassment, he also hadn’t had a single drop of alcohol. Inside, inside his heart was shattering into a million tiny pieces. He grabbed Rangiku by the hand and tugged her through the door, Rukia called out to him but he ignored her. There was a pounding in his head, his heart was beating ready to burst from his chest because the fragments wanted to give way. He felt sick, he was going to throw up but he just needed to get out, needed to get home, needed to try and wipe that image from his mind, burn it from his mind as the back of his throat constricted and they made their way towards the car. Even in her drunken state she could tell something was wrong.

He just had to hang on, he just needed to get home before he shattered. Every single blink was a stab in his heart because every time his lids closed over his eyes he could see them. He could see them wrapped around each other and the thought… the thought of what came next for the kissing boys that night was enough to spill two large tears from giant teal eyes.


	9. Broken

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was so darn difficult to write...

Perhaps Yukio would be receiving? He’d looked pretty passive with Ichigo during the kiss… it looked very much like Ichigo was dominant. Maybe that’s what Yukio liked about him? Maybe at this very moment the blond would be screaming out Ichigos name as he was being fucked by the taller strawberry, their sweaty bodies entangled in limbs and grunts and moans filling one of the bedrooms of Yukios lavish apartment. Maybe Ichigo would be passive? Yukio came across as quite a dominant person… so maybe the roles would be reversed? Maybe Ichigo would ride the blonds cock? The thought of their sweat mingling on their bodies as they moved together and moaned together was keeping Toshiro awake. He was tossing and turning in his bed, he’d put Rangiku right to bed though she’d tried to reach out to him in her drunken haze, he just wanted to curl up in his bed and let his heart break alone.  

He hadn’t felt a pain like this since his Gran and parents had passed away, though why did it surprise him? Yukio had plenty of chances to make a move on him, he could easily have had him if he wanted but he didn’t.

_He doesn’t want you Toshiro._

That started a fresh wave of tears as he whimpered into his pillow and choked out into the empty dark room, rocking himself and trying to quell the terrible aching in his chest. Every time he thought about what the two boys could be doing he felt a stab in his chest like someone was forcing a hot poker through his ribs. Sometime when the sun started to come up was when he finally fell asleep. His pillow was damp with his tears and he knew his nose as been running too but he didn’t care, he’d just wiped it on the sleeve of his shirt. Why bother changing going to bed right? It didn’t matter because no one loved him anyway.

He was stirred awake when he felt a presence climbing into bed beside him. A tender arm reached out to him and curled around his waist encouraging him to roll over. He turned around and instantly snuggled into Rangiku. There was one person who loved him.

‘Shhh,’ she cooed the moment he choked out and felt a fresh wave of hysteria wash over him. The bed shifted and she reached over to grab something, soon a tissue was being pressed to his eyes and she was rubbing his nose onto it. He knew he must have looked some state, he knew his face flushed a horrible red colour when he was upset. She didn’t say anything though discarding the tissue and settling down to wrap her two arms around him and cradle him. 

‘H-He was k-kissing I-I-Ich,’ he couldn’t even get the words out when he gave another strangled sob and twisted his head back into her shoulder.

‘I know,’ she mumbled, ‘I know.’ She hadn’t changed and still wore her attire from the night out. It was a delicate lacy black top but she’d put a cardigan over the top of it and it was into the fabric of this that Toshiro was now sobbing.

‘It hurts,’ he mumbled, scrunching his face up, curling his legs up so that his left leg came over own and she brought a hand down to grasp it and pull him closer. It was as if she was trying to engulf his pain away from his own body and into her own.

‘I know it does,’ she kissed the side of his head, where her lips could reach and her hand began to stroke comforting circles into his lower back. Toshiro tried to focus on the feeling of her hand, tried to drown out everything else because – _oh god_ did he want to drown it out.

He must have fallen asleep again for a long time and when he woke he judged it to be around 2 or 3 in the afternoon from the direction the light was coming in through his window. He sat up, Rangiku was gone but the bedroom door was open. At the bottom of his bed sat a fresh pair of sweats and one of his more comfortable t-shirts. He wondered where the strawberry haired girl had gone when he smelt the undeniable scent of pancakes. Normally she only made them when he was hung over. The thought of eating anything caused his stomach to clench, he wasn’t hungry but the smell was inviting and he wanted to be near his friend again. Her presence made things better, so he slipped out of bed and quickly got dressed into the clothes she’d laid out for him before making his way towards the kitchen.

‘I made pancakes,’ she smiled at him as he walked in. He didn’t say anything he just walked over to her and nuzzled into her side. She put her spatula down to pull him into another hug. ‘He kissed Ichigo?’ Toshiro nodded his head, squeezing his eyes shut; he’d literally cried them dry.

 ‘Yes,’ Toshiro could hear how hoarse his own voice was and it cracked as he said it. He heard his friend take in a deep breath and let out a sigh. ‘Can you take the pain away?’ he knew he sounded pathetic but he couldn’t help it. He felt so small, so insignificant to the world.

‘I can’t, but there comes a time in everyone’s life where they feel this kind of pain. They’re called crushes for a reason Toshiro,’ she picked the spatula up to flip the current pancake onto a plate where three of its brothers sat waiting for it. She kept Toshiro pressed firmly against her side with her left arm as she picked up the plate with her right. ‘Now, you’re going to eat these and we’re going to talk about what happens next.’

‘I’m not hungry,’ he wrinkled his nose at the thought of eating food and she turned her scolding eyes down on him.

‘You’re _going_ to eat these,’ she repeated, ‘and we’re _going_ to talk about what happens next.’

He sighed and took the plate from her, she pressed a bottle into his hand and he smiled carefully at just how well she knew him. He couldn’t eat pancakes without something sweet and that something sweet always had to be the strawberry syrup they put on top of ice cream cones. He took the bottle through to the living room and poured some of the sweet syrup onto them. She joined him with two cups of coffee and they sat and ate in silence for a while.

Her words seemed to register somewhere in the back of his mind, she’d said they were going to talk about what happens next? Yet it seemed highly unlikely that there was anything that could be done. Ichigo was going to marry Yukio, sweep him off his feet, fulfil all his sexual desires, move in with him, star in all his vlogs. He was going to wake up next to him every morning, kiss him goodnight every night, cook and clean for him and have his babies. Well… through adoption since mpreg was not a thing outside the fan fiction realm.

Still he wanted to know what was going on in that big head of his best friends…

‘So what happens next?’

‘Well,’ she sat back finishing one of her pancakes and taking a long drink of her coffee. ‘I hate to bring it up… but… in the past when you’ve been this upset it’s been with very good reason. When someone is gone we can’t do anything to get them back.’ She picked up another pancake and put it in her mouth a small smirk playing at the corner of her lips. ‘But Yukio isn’t dead and though it feels painful, you need to remember that. He might like Ichigo now and you might have to just get on and deal with that. I’m not convinced, I’ve seen the way he looks at you Tosh and I’m not convinced he doesn’t have some kind of feelings for you too.’

‘Don’t,’ he whined, ‘please don’t get my hopes up. I can’t stand to have them crushed again.’

‘I know you’re very vulnerable right now, but answer me this Toshiro… have you done anything or said anything that may make Yukio think you reciprocate his feelings? Because he has feelings for you, I know he does.’

‘How can you be so sure?’

‘From everything you’ve ever told me? At the club he asked _you_ to dance. When he first came into that recording room the first day we all met it was _you_ he couldn’t keep his eyes off. When he was over here on Christmas he was asking me all kinds of questions about you while you were cooking-‘

‘You didn’t tell me that!’

‘When you were locked in the audio room together it was him who went forward as if he were going to kiss you, what did you do?’

‘I leaned away…’ Toshiros heart was pounding in his chest.

‘So remind me, what have you done to show Yukio that you might even be remotely attracted to him?’

‘I-‘ Toshiro snapped his mouth shut and thought. What had he done? The first day he saw Yukio he wouldn’t even give the boy his name. He’d run out the class, avoided him like the plague. Each time Yukio leaned in towards him… he’d leaned away; in his bedroom, in the audio room. When Yukio had put his hand on Toshiros ass, Toshiro had shoved it off.

‘I lay my head on his shoulder when we were slow dancing.’

‘Oh my goodness you must be in love with him.’ Rangiku said sarcastically, ‘do you see my point?’

‘Yeah…’ he breathed with a frown. There had been small things he’d done like being caught staring at him but that was so subtle, even Toshiro wouldn’t assume someone liked him just based on the fact they were staring. In fact Yukio had! Toshiro recalled Christmas when Yukio had stayed over and he’d looked up to see the boy quickly looking away. Yukio had made several advances to get close to him, Toshiro had shrugged them all off. ‘Oh god,’ Toshiro sighed shrinking back into the couch and clutching at his cup of coffee.

‘Yup, now that you see my point let’s look at this logically shall we?’ she shuffled in her seat to put her now empty plate on the table and turned back towards him. ‘He’s been caught staring at you by me several times, he has tried to initiate intimate contact with you several times and you’ve rebutted all except the dance in that club that one time you were drunk. He very openly admitted to you at Christmas he’d have you on his bed anytime-‘

‘He was drunk when he said it,’

‘You were drunk when you heard it, doesn’t mean he didn’t mean it,’ she shook her head at him. ‘Honestly Toshiro, you have to give a guy something… I mean maybe he ran off with Ichigo because he was feeling lonely because of how many times you rebutted him?’

‘You didn’t see them Ran, Yukio was smiling into the kiss with a smile I’ve never seen him wear before, he was happy. He was swallowing Ichigos tongue and they were all over each other.’ Toshiro couldn’t eat the last pancake as the memories came flooding to the surface and put the plate down on the table noticing that as he did so his hands were shaking.

‘So? Ichigo seems like a really good friend to Yukio, maybe they just decided “fuck it lets pull?” How do we know it wasn’t just a dare by someone else?’

‘I don’t know because it just didn’t seem like it and to think that feels like wishful thinking.’ He tilted his head back against the couch and closed his eyes with a choked sigh. ‘They were practically dry humping, they very clearly went to bed together.’ Toshiro wrapped his arms around himself, trying to squeeze out the mental images he’d had earlier of the two boys fucking each other.

‘Oh I don’t think they did,’ Rangiku was smirking at him now.

‘Why not?’

‘What time did you leave?’

‘Maybe around quarter past two in the morning? I don’t know,’ he shrugged his shoulders and she held up his phone. ‘Where the hell?’ he took it from her hands and glared at her.

‘When you were sleeping I decided to do some digging of my own because I am convinced of Yukios feelings for you. Yukio sent you a text about half past two asking where you were. Now I am assuming he wasn’t planning on inviting you in for a threesome so he was genuinely looking for you.’

‘Maybe he just wanted to rub it in my face,’ Toshiro mumbled bitterly as he sank back into the couch and cuddled back into his cup of coffee.

‘Being pessimistic is unbecoming of you Toshiro,’ Rangiku was frowning at him. ‘I do not believe for a _second_ that was why Yukio was looking for you. It was very clear he didn’t sleep with Ichigo.’

‘He might have slept with him after he sent me a text.’

‘Maybe he did, maybe he didn’t. Maybe he’s been waiting for you to say something to him about how you feel, how will we know?’

‘I don’t know…’

‘You have to _talk_ to him,’ she scolded. Toshiro didn’t like it when Rangiku stepped into mother mode and scolded him but he knew she was right. How the hell was he meant to do it though? Walk right up to him and be all like; hey Yukio I’m in love with you, loved you since the moment I saw your first youtube video would you marry me? Kdsjfhkjdfh!!!! No.

‘I can’t do that,’ he shook his head vigorously, ‘what if he and Ichigo _are_ together? I could risk losing all the friends I’ve made because I admit feelings.’

She took a deep breath and sighed, she knew that no matter what she said he wouldn’t budge, he was stubborn and far too shy to approach someone as famous and attractive as Yukio and admit feelings. She pursed her lips thoughtfully as she finished her coffee.

‘What about speaking to Rukia, just ask if she knows what happened last night?’

‘I could do that,’ Toshiro mumbled he was sure that Rukia would not run off and speak to anyone else. She already knew that he liked Yukio and hadn’t told anyone so he was confident she would be able to keep a private conversation a secret.

‘But you’re not going into University on Thursday are you?’ she asked, it was as if she could just read his mind.

‘I can do most of my work from home,’ he said as he stared at the TV.

‘You can’t avoid them forever you know.’

‘I know, just long enough for the hurt to go away.’

‘And Rukia?’

‘I’ll see her when I go back, I’ll just tell them I’m ill.’

‘So you’re going to lie to them?’

‘Technically I’m not lying.’ He wasn’t, not really, he felt terrible. His chest was still aching, he could feel a sore head coming on and he just wanted to go back to bed and sleep all day.

‘Alright, will we have a Netflix and chill day?’ she asked and he nodded enthusiastically. They went about bringing bed covers through to the living room so they could sprawl out on the couch. Toshiro snuggled down against Rangiku and they loaded up Netflix to watch an entire season of Daredevil. Sometime part of the way through episode number 6 Toshiro found himself drifting off again. He was started awake by a notification on his phone and Rangiku reached over to the table to bring it over and they both glanced at it. Yukio had tweeted out that his latest youtube video was up and Toshiro felt his stomach twist uncomfortably.

‘We should watch it together,’ Rangiku encouraged him. ‘I’ll be right here. We might be able to find out once and for all?’

‘I don’t know if I wanna know,’ Toshiro mumbled, he could feel moisture springing to his eyes again and he shifted further down into the covers and turned to gaze up at Ran. Her baby blue eyes were full of concern as she watched him.

‘You’ve never missed a Yukio video,’ she muttered softly and he felt his stomach clench again. A dry heat was pounding against the back of his eyes.

‘I know,’ his voice had now become susurrant. Rangiku gently reached down and took his phone from his loose fingers and brought up Youtube. She clicked on the video and Toshiro cowered into her side, he couldn’t even look at the blond so he just closed his eyes. Even his voice was sending a painful flutter right through his chest as he sounded his usual cheerful intro.

‘Happy New Year Yukies! So update; had a party yesterday so I didn’t get a chance to film at all,’ he laughed, ‘so this video is literally going to be a short one to one, heart to heart kind of thing.’ He paused and did something Toshiro couldn’t see. It sounded like he was moving something. ‘Anyway, I think I made progress with this mysterious crush of mine…’ Toshiro whined and pressed his face further into Rangikus side. Of course he made progress with him, he had his tongue in his throat. ‘He’s a handsome man, you should see the body on this guy…’

‘Turn it off,’ Toshiro choked new tears spilling from his eyes and his heart beating wildly in his chest, ‘please turn it off.’ Rangiku must have done so because the Californian accent stopped and an arm moved to wrap around him and pull him close. ‘It’s Ichigo.’

‘What makes you say that?’

‘Ichigo got naked last night during that game of strip poker… they kissed, he made no progress with me. It’s Ichigo,’ the tears were falling thick from his eyes again and he’d brought a hand up to clutch desperately to the front of Rangikus top. She didn’t say a single word, it seemed now even the optimistic strawberry blond was convinced it was Ichigo too.

* * *

 

He’d gotten loads of ‘get well soon’ texts from his friends when he told them he was ill. Rangiku had to go out to work but came in to check on him before heading out, she told him she’d left something out for breakfast but he just ignored it. He wasn’t hungry and hadn’t eaten much since the pancakes except a slice of toast Rangiku had practically shoved down his throat the night before. He’d turned his pillow over because the wetness from his tears kept dampening the fabric, making it wet and mushy under his face. He was miserable but he still wanted to be comfortably miserable.

He only got up to pee and get a glass of water before coming back to bed and continued to try and sleep. The next two days went in the same kind of fashion though he hadn’t heard much from his friends because he knew they were busy getting ready to head back into University.

After checking his University emails he saw that Ukitake had arranged a meeting with him regarding up coming work experience placements for the day he was due back. He sighed, that was an important meeting and he’d have to go to it, but he could just slip in avoid everyone and slip back out again. The meeting was for late afternoon in Ukitakes office on the Thursday.

When the day came for them to return to University Toshiro stayed in bed longer than normal and only planned on going in for the meeting. He slipped out of bed and dragged himself over to the mirror. It was not a pretty sight. Despite getting loads of sleep the area around his eyes was dark and he’d given himself petechiae under his eyes from all his crying. His hair was unwashed and wasn’t it’s usual white and fluffy instead it was dropping, clinging to his head and face in ugly strands that looked congealed. He’d not bathed in nearly a week now and it was showing. He couldn’t meet his professor like this, even though he did not have the motivation to want to go and get clean. He forced himself and stood under the water for around five minutes, enough to run a bar of soap over his body and shampoo his hair and came out. He threw on an old grey hoodie and an old ripped pair of jeans.

Rather than cycle he just took the bus, he didn’t have the strength to cycle today and he would be too distracted to pay attention to the roads. He knew Rangiku would murder him if she found out he’d cycled the distance with the lack of food he’d been eating. As he drew closer to the University he felt butterflies in his stomach, he’d have to try and avoid all the usual spots where the others would normally roam in the hopes of just getting to Professor Ukitake and then getting out again undetected.

He quickly made his way down the corridors and turned left, and then he turned right, heading towards the media section of the building. He opened the doors and-

‘Toshiro?’

Shit. He glanced down the hall and at the other end several meters away was Yukio. He was standing at the checkout desk for equipment and was waving at him. Knowing the boy would be in the middle of arranging something with the grumpy tech support staff while trying to get equipment Toshiro took his opportunity to retreat. He quickly made his way down another corridor and heard Yukio calling out to him from behind. He broke into a run heading towards the flight of stairs that lead to the offices and quickly scampered up them and towards Professor Ukitakes office. He knocked on the door and practically threw himself in when he was invited.

‘Are you alright?’ Ukitake asked eyeing Toshiros appearance and out of breath state as he panted and made his way over towards the chair opposite him.

‘Yeah fine,’ he mumbled and the older white haired male did not look convinced.

‘So I thought we could chat about the work experience, I have a contact I can give you if you-‘

‘I already have it sorted, Dj Shuhei is going to let me Dj at GHQ again and he will take notes and supervise me.’ Toshiro had arranged this himself, it felt weird for his colleague to do something like this when Toshiro was considered an expert already. Alas it was what he needed for his course and he was prepared to work a free night to get the feedback from another DJ.

‘Oh, well alright that sounds adequate,’ Ukitake sat back in his chair and picked up a folder of paper work. ‘This is an example of a written graded unit we received from someone who got an A last year, I thought you could maybe take some hints and tips from it?’

‘Thank you,’ he took the copied report and quickly stood up. ‘Was that everything? Sorry Sir I’m just not feeling well.’

‘Toshiro,’ Ukitake leaned over the desk towards him, ‘you know as the head of your year group I am also here for you should you need any _additional_ support or someone to talk too? I promise I will keep everything confidential.’

‘I don’t think it’s something you can help me with sir,’ he mumbled feeling the backs of his eyes beginning to burn again and he quickly looked away from his favourite professor.

‘Alright well, you’d be surprised the mountain of knowledge I have on my shoulders, do come and see me I am sure I can find some way of being able to help.’

‘Thank you,’ Toshiro gave him a nod of his head and quickly turned to leave the office. He had a feeling Ukitake would demand him to stay until he figured out what was going on but the older male obviously sensed his urgency and need to leave.

Yukio would now surely be done checking equipment out and he wasn’t sure where the blond was planning to go with the filming equipment so Toshiro thought about hiding in the bathroom just to try and avoid everyone. He glanced down the corridor when he saw Rukia walking towards the office, her head was cast down and her eyes on a piece of paper in her hand before she look up and caught his eye. She stopped walking and froze. Toshiro sighed and started towards her, she glanced around wildly and looked like she wanted to run away. Why on earth would she want to do that? He sped up, it was rare to find her alone but now that he had he figured it would be a good idea to speak to her.

‘Hey Rukia,’ he said as he got closer and she sighed and turned to him.

‘Hey,’ she mumbled back.

‘What’s wrong?’ he asked and she chewed the inside of her mouth thoughtfully.

‘Toshiro I don’t know how to tell you this… the party…’

‘I already know,’ he lowered his gaze to his feet and she sighed.

‘You do?’ she asked, ‘I’ve been trying to ask Renji about it but he’s been pretty unresponsive. I don’t think he knows or if he does he doesn’t want to talk about it, which is weird because he and Ichigo seem to be getting close again. I’ve tried to pry the information from him but he’s not having it and I’ve not had a chance to corner Ichigo yet myself.’ She seemed to stop when she realised that Toshiro was now looking at his feet, he wanted to ask her to stop talking. There was no point in trying to understand the reasoning behind the kiss after all it was pretty obvious wasn’t it? Still she kept talking. ‘When Ichigo was acting weird in the morning I just knew… I figured that’s why you’d left the party without saying goodbye.’

‘Ichigo was acting differently?’

‘Yeah he was acting his usual way he only acts when he’s been laid remember me telling you?’ she said and hurt must have flashed across his face and her eyes went wide.

‘Oh shit, you didn’t know that they-?’

‘I had guessed,’ he felt like the air was being hit out of his lungs, ‘but I-I just figured they were just kissing.’

‘Oh Toshiro I’m so sorry, I only heard that they were kissing too I didn’t see it myself. I figured that’s what you must have seen but wasn’t sure if you’d maybe seen them slip off together or something? I mean Ichigo was super happy the next day and he’s only ever like that when…’

‘Yeah I get it,’ Toshiro could feel his throat constricting like someone was choking him with massive hands. She seemed to hesitate as if trying to work out if the next part was worth mentioning or not.

‘The weird thing is though that I spoke to Yukio before the party. We went over to help him tidy up and get the place ready and I cornered him and he let slip that his crush was cute, so I bombarded him with demanding questions and he finally caved. He told me he liked you… but then he… I was going to tell you when we were all sober but he…’ she shook her head and looked back at her feet.

‘Rangiku thought that maybe both Ichigo and Yukio liked me but it appears to have been wrong. It seems Yukio liked both me and Ichigo and I guess… he just got there first.’ Toshiro shrugged his shoulders and quickly looked away.

‘That doesn’t mean you can’t have him, just because Ichigo might have him just now.’ Toshiro let out a humourless laugh.

‘How on earth do you suppose I go about getting him?’

‘Do something romantic, he’s a sucker for romance he said so in his-‘

‘YuQnA vlog? Yeah I saw it,’ he mumbled cutting her off. ‘I can’t think of a single romantic thing I could possibly do to win affection back off Ichigo. I can’t even tell Yukio that I had feelings for him in the first place.’ Toshiro mumbled and Rukia shook her head.

‘I have an idea,’ she pulled a folded up piece of paper from inside her jacket and handed it to him. He opened it to see the talent show information for that coming Saturday.

‘You don’t have to audition if you get a professor recommendation and I already spoke to Ukitake, he’s already confirmed you.’

‘You-WHAT?’ he snapped glaring at her and she smirked at him.

‘Your names down, no one knows about it. I won’t pressure you but I think you should do it. It’s your last year, it’s a last shot, you could lose out on everything or you could go down trying?’ She shuffled her feet and waved a bit of paper around in her hand. ‘Anyway all you need to do is show up, I can take care of getting the guys there no problem. Yukio will be paying attention, if there’s something you cannot say to his face maybe you can say it in song? I have to go, I have a class soon and I need to speak to Ukitake about this abomination of a report.’ She brushed passed him, leaving him standing with the piece of paper clutched in his shaking hand.

He blinked at her as he watched her walk into the office and swallowed thickly. Her words were lingering in the back of his mind… _‘if there’s something you cannot say to his face maybe you can say it in song?’_ He pocketed the piece of paper and made his way swiftly back down the stairs praying the blond had moved.

It seemed Yukio had been waiting for Toshiro, knowing fine well that this main media corridor held the only doors back into the main building. Short of using a fire escape and setting off a fire alarm Toshiro couldn’t get out the building any other way. He cursed himself when the blond grabbed his arm the moment he walked around the corner.

‘Toshiro wait,’ his voice was excited. ‘How are you feeing?’ Toshiro never answered and instead turned to glare at the hand holding him in place, Yukio went on. ‘I heard you do Snowboarding instruction classes? I was wondering if I could come along for one I’ve never done it before and thought it could be cool for youtube.’

Toshiro was seething, he couldn’t help the anger as he looked at the boy. He had admitted he had a crush on him then he went and kissed Ichigo? He practically wanted to shout at the blond and went back to glaring at the hand secured around his arm until the grip slackened.

‘Toshiro?’ Yukios voice sounded confused now no doubt seeing the glares being sent towards his hand. The blond finally let his grip go, his hand falling uselessly to his side and in its wake Toshiro felt a tingle in his arm. How dare he touch him after what he had done? How dare he act so casual when Toshiro had been hurting for days on end? Toshiros teal eyes snapped back to that confused looking emerald optic of the boy and he snarled.

‘Why don’t you take your fucking boyfriend with you?’ he hadn’t shouted but the way his venomous voice sounded was enough to cause the blond to jump back as if he’d just been slapped. Toshiro turned on his heel and stormed from the building.


	10. Dawn of Understanding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things get a little better...

It had been the first time in a long time that Rangiku had shouted at him.

‘So let me get this straight,’ her voice sounded through their apartment as he winced back into the couch. ‘Rukia confirms what I’ve said all along that he has feelings for you and likely potentially slept with Ichigo because you’ve not done a single thing to reciprocate those feelings. The boy grabs you and practically asks you out on what could only be a date and you respond by sending him back to Ichigo?’

‘… I-‘

‘What the hell were you thinking Toshiro? I mean do you even like this guy at all? I’m starting to doubt the fact you even want to be with him or if you just enjoy being the miserable little wounded puppy.’

‘I do not enjoy being a wounded puppy,’ he huffed folding his arms across his chest and leaning away from her.

‘Okay, you’re doing the talent show.’

‘What! No I’m-‘

‘You’re _doing_ the talent show.’ She snarled at him, ‘you’re going to go up on that stage and sing that boy a song or you’re going to go and talk to his face about your feelings. Which one is it going to be?’

‘You can’t force-‘

‘Yes I will, I will drag you and throw you up on that stage if I have to Toshiro and we both know I’m stronger. I’ll do it, even if you’re naked in bed I will throw you up on that stage naked.’ She was standing glowering over him now and he scowled up at her.

‘You wouldn’t dare-‘

‘Watch me,’ her eyes flashed at him and he knew she was being serious.

‘Fine,’ he snapped, ‘I’ll do the damn show-‘ he stood up and stormed past her to his bedroom where he slammed the door. It didn’t quite sound loudly enough for his liking so he opened it and slammed it again, this time louder and better.

* * *

 

Toshiro had avoided all manners of Yukios social media for the first time ever in his life. He locked himself away in his room that night and wrote a song, practicing it until he could sing in his sleep. He couldn’t believe he was being forced into this and had text Rukia to tell her that Rangiku was forcing him to do the song.

Rukia was thrilled she’d text back telling him that she’d have the guys there and it made him curious, why did Rukia want Yukio to be with Toshiro more than Ichigo? The text back had confused him even more.  

 **Rukia** (21:33pm)

Didn’t you see Yukios tweet yesterday?

Confused Toshiro – reluctantly – went onto twitter and was startled by what he saw on there.

 

Yukio (a)YukioHans 29h

:( I don’t think we’ll ever be together now ~ x

 

Beyond confused Toshiro had called Rukia to demand an explanation, he wasn’t sure what the hell was going on with Yukio but he was shocked to know that the tweet had just gone up only a few hours after he’d snapped at him. Rukia was smug, it was clear she knew something that he didn’t and promised to explain everything to him when she saw him on Saturday.

Friday flew in and Yukio had tried to call him several times but eventually stopped trying.

He went to work on Saturday morning in Snow Factor in Glasgow which meant a trek on the train, he had to do something to take his mind off the looming concert and Yukios tweets which were only successful in confusing him more. Working was good for him, it had been a while since he’d done proper instruction lessons and he was trying to save up for Rukias birthday which was the following week. Though she was going back up to Aberdeen to see her brother for her actual birthday weekend she’d asked them all if they wanted to go out this weekend to help her celebrate it. Toshiro did not feel like going in the slightest, because he knew Ichigo and Yukio would be there… together and it would also be the first time they were all together after the new years party. Though he didn’t have the slightest clue what was going on he was still sure he didn’t want to be around the two boys together. However it was Rukia and though he was sure she’d understand why he didn’t want to go he’d still feel guilty about letting her down considering she’d help arranged a birthday surprise for him.

He was concerned about how things would turn out after this song, how Ichigo would react and how the group dynamics would change once he performed. He didn’t want Ichigo to be mad at him and he didn’t want to break the group up, he knew he’d have to have a lengthy conversation with the strawberry eventually and explain that while he had feelings for Yukio he’d understand that the blond was with Ichigo and not him, that is… if they were together at all… considering Yukios tweet. The thought made him cringe, it was a conversation he wasn’t looking forward too if he had to have it.

The day of the show arrived and though he didn’t give a crap about winning he was nervous as anything. Rukia coming over helped to take his mind off things and he was so very desperate to hear what she refused to tell him over the phone. As he led her into his room he’d left something on his bed, clearly labelled for her.

‘What’s this?’ she asked gazing down at the packaged gift.

‘Just open it,’ he mumbled. She stripped back the packaging and opened the box to reveal a brand new pair of SFR Ice Skates.

‘I know it’s early but you love Ice Skating and I thought maybe it could be something we could start to do together,’ he shrugged his shoulders, ‘if not you can always go alone. It’s a good way to keep fit.’

‘Toshiro thank you so much,’ she hugged him enthusiastically and he patted her awkwardly on the back.

‘Is everything okay?’ she asked letting go and gazing at him. He shuffled his feet and opened his mouth he wasn’t exactly sure how to word his question.

‘Rukia… that tweet…’

‘Ah yes,’ she smiled and patted the bed beside her where she’d taken up residency. ‘I didn’t want to tell you over the phone because well… it’s just not something I wanted to discuss with them in the apartment.’

‘Who?’

‘Ichigo and Renji got together,’

‘WHAT!?’ Toshiro was in shock, he felt numb, what? How? Why? When?

‘Yeah,’ she smiled and leaned back on her arms, ‘so apparently that’s what the big fight had been about at the end of last year. Turns out Ichigo and Renji had been sleeping together for a couple of months and Ichigo wanted more. Their conversation ended badly as Renji didn’t want anything to happen between them but Ichigo has always had a thing for him.’

‘But Yukio?’

‘I know,’ her face fell and she sighed, ‘I’ve not seen him to ask how he is.’

‘Oh,’ Toshiro sat back on his bed trying to digest her words, he should be happy. Thrilled right? He was going to have another shot at this. Yet… he felt so sad… he’d rather Yukio be with Ichigo and be happy than be available and upset. He scowled at himself, that’s perhaps why Yukio had been calling him. He maybe just wanted someone to talk too and Toshiro had not been there, he’d been a very poor friend.

‘I always suspected that Ichigo had a thing for Renji until Yukio came on the scene,’ she muttered, ‘boys are so confusing when you don’t talk about feelings. Yukio will need us he’ll be needing his friends.’

‘Is he going out tonight after the show?’

‘I think so, he’s not said no and I think he wants to come for me since it’s meant to be my birthday thing,’ she was thoughtful for a while.

‘If boys are confusing because they don’t talk how did you find out?’

‘Well, Renji left his phone on the table in the living room and I saw the texts Ichigo was sending him flash up on the screen, I cornered him about it and he finally opened up. Toshiro shuffled on his bed as Rangiku came into the room. The two girls had become really good friends and Rangiku narrowed her eyes.

‘You guys talking about Yukio?’ she guessed, judging by the way Toshiros face had perhaps fallen.

‘Yeah, he and Ichigo aren’t together I was just telling Tosh,’ Rukia filled Rangiku in and the strawberry blond grinned down at Toshiro.

‘Fate wants you two to be together,’ she cackled in success, her eyes gleaming with mischief,  ‘are you two ready to go?’ she asked and Toshiro instantly felt a cold sweat on the back of his neck. Suddenly this song had a different meaning and he felt nervous. He knew both his friends were trying to convince him that he now stood a chance but that didn’t change the fact that Yukio wanted Ichigo to begin with and the blond boy would be hurting… perhaps even worse than Toshiro had been? How could he feel happy with that? His stomach started to do flips as the realization washed over him that pretty soon he’d be performing in front of people… in front of Yukio…

‘Breathe Toshiro,’ Rukia mumbled rubbing his back. ‘Breathe and get Momo.’ He’d decided to take Momo instead of his other guitar because he didn’t want anything bad to happen to it, there was also something more comforting about Momo that he knew would help him when he got on stage.

Why is it when there’s something you’re looking forward too the world moves in slow motion… but when there’s something you’re dreading? The entire world speeds up. The last couple of days had flown by and even the trip to the University had too. Soon he was clutching Momo close to him, she was slung over his shoulder and making his way to one of the classrooms where the acts were waiting.

By this point the show had already started, but Toshiro knew what time he was expecting to go up so rather than waiting back stage nervous they’d left closer to the time he was due to be on. Rukia pulled out her phone and grinned.

‘I’m going to film his reaction for you, in case you want to watch it back. Me and Rangiku will be standing in the audience. If you get nervous, just look at us alright?’ Toshiro nodded and watched them walk off to where the crowds were gathered. His stomach was flipping and he turned to see Shunsui waving to him.

‘Hey Toshiro, there’s a kid bombing a magic act just now then the tech guys will have the stage ready for you. How are you feeling?’

‘I’m fine,’ he squeaked and Shunsui smiled at him.

‘I’m surprised you’re doing this, I’d have thought you would be a bit too shy?’

‘I’m fine,’ he squeaked again and Shunsui laughed and clamped him on the back. They were in a room just off from a drama stage of the University. It wasn’t massive so Toshiro wasn’t worried about audience size, it was sort of just a large hall with a makeshift stage. Shunsui led him to a room that was essentially a hallway, a room just off the stage with a door on one side and access to the stage on the other.

‘Now we don’t have stage lighting or anything, since this stage rarely gets used since the Drama students moved to another campus. So its full hall lighting I’m afraid.’

‘O-okay,’ he slipped Momo off his back and took her out of her cover. His hands were shaking as he glanced out towards the stage where the tech support guys were getting ready for him. A microphone being positioned low for where his guitar would go.

‘Might be best for you to go out now, so they can get your height right,’ Shunsui gave him a little shove and he glanced towards the stage where Ukitake was standing at the side ready to introduce him. He gave Toshiro and encouraging nod and Toshiro straightened up, walking forward and –thankfully- not tripping on his way up the steps. He could feel heat creeping up his neck and he was sure he was breaking out in a rash.

‘Performing an original song called “Somebody Else” is Toshiro Hitsugaya.’ There was a polite round of applause except for two very loud feminine cheers as Toshiro sat down. His eyes snapped over in the direction and he saw Rangiku and Rukia cheering him on even when everyone else had stopped applauding.

The hall was wide but not long, there were maybe a hundred or so people crammed into the space and the white lights from the high ceiling above were illuminating everything perfectly. Beside Rukia and Rangiku stood a startled Ichigo a shocked Yukio and a passive Renji who had a finger in his ear as he worked it.

Yukios mouth had fallen open in a small ‘o’ and he closed it the moment Toshiro met his eye. It was a wonder how Yukio could stand to be so close to Ichigo and Renji? How was he being so strong about this whole situation? Toshiro felt stupid, maybe he had been totally pathetic for crying for days on end over a little kiss. Maybe others didn’t break down like that, maybe they were stronger? The prodigy quickly looked away as the tech staff came to readjust the height of his microphone down to the smallest possible size setting. He tried not to scowl as a few people sitting at the front chuckled once they realised what was happening.

Once they left he took a deep breath, panic wasn’t getting a chance to set in now because he strummed lightly on Momo, listening intently for how the sound rung out around the room. The great thing about performing at a media University was that the audio levels were perfect so the guitar would not overpower him and he would not overpower the guitar. Good.

He started the opening of the song, plucking lightly at a few strings. From the original song he’d wrote he’d slowed this song down, though it picked up at the chorus, it started soft and gentle and he tried to lose himself in the music. It was easier to cope with everything, the pressure, what lay on this performance, the message in the song and the possible reactions once the song had been absorbed if he just focused only on the music. Once the small guitar intro was done, he stopped and tapped a beat with his foot which he then began to add into his strumming as he strummed his guitar, he opened his mouth and was pleased to find his voice still worked.

 

_‘A fan for my life I've promised to be_

_After all the things you've done for me_

_When you lean forward, I always lean back_

_I'm just not good when it comes to tact_

_I can't help but be this awkward and slow_

_Please just have me and hold me and never let go…’_

The tune picked up, coming into the chorus and the beats became more pronounced, and he tried to focus on the song and only the song. He had wanted to look out into the crowed and see his friends’ reactions but he didn’t want a distraction in case something went wrong. So he just hoped Rukia was filming on her phone.

 

_‘But..._

_A dangerous game I don’t think I can play, because he’s better than me in so many ways. Cheek and wit above all else but he’s busy looking at somebody else._

_Somebody else!_

_Somebody else!’_

He knew he had some set of lungs on him mostly it was because of cycling that kept his endurance levels high. So the last part of the chorus he let the rocky edge enter his voice as he sang it, drawing out the note as long as he could. After that part of the chorus, the song halted for a beat before he strummed lightly back on Momo.

 

_‘Watching you dance with him was hard enough_

_Laying down cards and calling your bluff_

_The most devastating part wasn't the kiss_

_But the smile on your lips - happily bliss_

_Heart breaking inside a solid shell_

_Stomach churning as I sit here and dwell_

_But...’_

The song picked back up as he once again strummed his way into the songs chorus, his fingers tapping a beat on the guitar after each strum.

_‘A dangerous game I don’t think I can play, because he’s better than me in so many ways. Compassion and charm above all else but he’s busy looking at_

_somebody else._

_Somebody else!_

_Somebody else-‘_

The rhythm changed as the song entered its middle eighth and the beats picked up as he sung out the next section. He chanced a glance at the audience and saw that Rangiku looked like she was actually crying. She’d brought a tissue up to her eye and Rukia was patting her arm softly while she held her phone pointing in the direction of Yukio, Ichigo and Renji. Though she’d only be getting a profile shot of their reactions it didn’t matter, Yukio’s was the only one he was interested in and he refused to meet the boys’ gaze.

_‘And though I cannot hide, the happiness I felt inside,_

_When you leaned into me and said_

_You'd happily take me upon your bed._

_But..._

_A dangerous game I don’t think I can play, because he’s better than me in so many ways. Blond and beautiful above all else but he's busy looking at_

_somebody else._

_Somebody else_

_He's busy looking at somebody else.’_

The final line of the song was strummed lightly as the song came to a halt and he finally brushed the last notes on his guitar. There was a beats silence and the hall erupted into cheers and applause. He felt heat creeping up his neck, he refused to look towards his friends but he knew in about those cheers was Rangiku screaming her applause at him. He quickly ducked back stage, his heart was hammering in his throat and he was blushing furiously.

‘Toshiro that was amazing, I didn’t know you could sing like that,’ it was Shunsui who was grinning at him looking fairly impressed. ‘Was that song about Yukio?’

‘Wha- how did you know?’ Toshiro tried not to let the blush expand but knew he was failing.

‘”Blond and beautiful?”’ Shunsui recited, ‘”Fan for life”?’ he chuckled and nodded his head, ‘it was pretty obvious if you ask me.’

Toshiro felt sick, he’d been so worried about the damn song and performing it he hadn’t really thought through what came next. Now he had to actually face the blond… he wouldn’t have before he’d have ran for hills and said he was ill and would have hid in his bedroom. However with Ichigo getting with Renji and the fact that they were expected to go out after the show for Rukias birthday, Toshiro felt obliged to go out.

He decided he could afford to wait backstage for a while as the last two acts performed, one was a rather talented piano player and the last was someone reciting some poetry that almost had Toshiro blowing saliva bubbles because he was so bored.

Shunsui eventually went on stage with Ukitake to announce the winners. In third place was an Irish dancer who had apparently performed before he got there. She ran up on stage and happily accepted her prize money which apparently was £50 for third place. He clapped politely along with everyone else and was shocked to hear his own name being called.

‘In second place is Toshiro Hitsugaya with his song “somebody else,”’ Toshiro was embarrassed as he quickly walked back onto the stage to an overly enthusiastic applause from his friends to pick up his prize of £100. He mumbled a thank you and quickly fled the stage as the piano player was awarded first place. That was it, there was no other reason for him to stay here, they were heading out for Rukias birthday and he was going to have to go. He took his time putting Momo in her case, trying to think about what the hell to say to the Californian boy when he finally got to see him. 

When he couldn’t secure Momo anymore than he had he practically dragged his feet over to the door and opened it, walking out into the hall which was clear and he could feel his heart hammering like he was some kind of spy trying to avoid detection. He walked down the hall and around the corner heading towards the exit of the building. It was when he stepped into the cold night air he spotted them all, leaning against the side of the University wall on the left side.

Rukia and Rangiku were chatting happily away to Yukio and the blond looked rather amused about something, he didn’t at all seem even the least bit upset. Toshiro frowned, how could he not be upset? Ichigo and Renji were stood just before them, Renji leaning against the building casually and Ichigo snuggling into chest. Why would they act like that so openly in front of Yukio? He frowned and walked towards them.

‘There’s our little star,’ Ichigo called, he’d detached himself from Renji and ran full pelt at Toshiro who stood frozen watching as the Strawberry came crashing into him, wrapping his arms around him and practically lifting him and Momo into the air.

‘Ichigo,’ he barked at the taller male, ‘get off,’ he was a little amused by his tall friends antics but he was still desperately confused by what was going on. He hated talking feelings and relationships but now more than ever he wanted too. Perhaps a drink would be good for them, to spill everything about how they’d been feeling.

‘Are you ready to get sloshed?’ he asked as he turned back towards the ground, his arm slung over Toshiros shoulder as the small prodigy tried not to look at Yukio as he approached the group.

‘A drink sounds like a very good idea,’ he said, ‘the first round is on me,’ he brandished his winnings and he heard Renji whoop loudly. Rukia and Rangiku were gushing over him and he continued to look at everyone except Yukio. They made their way to Rangikus car to deposit stuff into the boot before walking into town for a few drinks, Toshiro placed Momo in the boot beside Ichigos bag and he felt a hand encircling his arm. He turned to look into that bright emerald eye of the Californian boy.

‘Walk beside me?’ he asked, his voice seemed to be giving away no indication of any emotion and Toshiro gulped. As if sensing what was going on the others walked ahead of them, Rangiku talking loudly about how Renji would have made a great model had he not got so many ugly tattoos. It allowed the two shortest boys of the group a chance to fall back so their conversation would not be overheard.

‘Was that song about me?’ he asked, his voice wavered slightly like he was unsure. As if someone had told him it was as a joke. Toshiro didn’t want to answer, to answer was to admit that he liked him so he just shrugged his shoulders, heat creeping across his face as he glanced down at his feet. ‘It was a brilliant song I never knew you could sing like that. Have you never thought about trying to get signed?’

‘I hate performing in front of people, so there’s no way I’d want to do it as a career.’

‘What about on youtube? You can do music videos just in front of a camera and still make a living off it? I bet the youtube community would love to see you join.’

‘I-‘ Toshiro was thoughtful, he’d never really thought about that before. ‘I never thought about it.’

‘Well you should, I think you’d do really well.’ They walked in silence for a while longer and Toshiro still wasn’t looking at him, instead he was watching their friends who were now so far ahead of them Toshiro could barely hear what they were shouting about. Ichigos outline appeared to be getting a piggy back ride from Renji.

‘Doesn’t it bother you?’ Toshiro mumbled, sneaking a glance at the blond to his right.

‘What?’

‘Ichigo… and Renji?’

‘They’re great together aren’t they?’ Toshiro turned to him and the blond was grinning at them, he looked… _happy._

‘But… I thought that… you and Ichigo?’

‘Me and Ichigo what?’

‘I mean… New Year… the kiss…’ Toshiro mumbled. Yukio stopped walking and turned to stare at Toshiro with a wide emerald eye.

‘Wait, you _saw_ that?’

‘You weren’t exactly being discrete about it,’ he mumbled.

‘Suddenly that song makes a lot more sense,’ Yukio was smiling and started walking again. ‘Is that why you weren’t answering my calls? Toshiro do you…?’

‘Do I what?’ he could feel heat creeping up his neck and across his face, he didn’t like this. Talking about feeling but of course he knew it had to be done.

‘Do you like me?’

‘I-‘ his heart was hammering in his chest. Yes. I’m in love with you. I masturbate while thinking of you a couple of times a week. You’re the first thing I think about when waking up and the last thing I think about before going to bed. ‘… I mean well, I think you’re attractive,’ he finally mumbled.

‘Oh,’ there was no mistaking the obvious confusion in his voice and they both walked in silence a little longer. ‘Well I’ll take what I can get.’

‘I’m so confused, so you don’t like Ichigo?’ Toshiro asked, glad to be side stepping the question of his own feelings.

‘I’ll make you a deal,’ there was a mischief bubbling in his voice again. ‘If you take me out for a snowboarding class, then I will take you back to mine and I’ll tell you everything about Ichigo, Renji and me. Deal?’

‘Is this just for your youtube channel?’ Toshiro asked, trying to confirm without properly asking if this was a date.

‘It will be yeah,’ he smiled, ‘you’re not very good at talking about emotions are you?’

‘Not in the slightest,’ he mumbled.

‘Then let me make this a little easier, I like you.’ Toshiros foot picked that exact moment to catch on an uneven cobble stone of the ancient streets and he stumbled before turning to gaze at Yukio with his cheeks blazing. He knew from what Rukia said that Yukio liked him but hearing it from the blonds own mouth was sometime entirely different. He could feel heat creeping up his own face as he tried to think of something worth replying.

‘Am I the one… that… on youtube?’ why were his questioning skills and his English skills failing him now?

‘Yeah you are,’ he smiled his blond hair was waving slightly in the cold Scottish breeze.

‘B-but Ichigo?’

‘I’ll tell you all about it after our date if you’re up for teaching the worst student you’ve ever had in your life?’

‘D-date?’ he stammered, the flush across his face would surely be visible in the darkness now? It felt like his entire face was glowing from the heat. His stomach was running about somewhere in his abdomen, yanking on his intestines and using it all as a skipping rope.

‘Yeah, unless you don’t want too? That’s fine too I get-‘

‘No,’ he quickly stammered, ‘its fine,’ he looked at his feet and the two boys were quickly shooed off the road as a taxi drove past. He was trying to comprehend what was going on… his heart was hammering as they walked side by side in silence now down the streets of Edinburgh. He couldn’t believe this… Yukio liked him… he _liked_ him and they were going on a date!

‘When do you want to-‘

‘Tomorrow?’ Toshiro scowled at himself, he’d said that far too quickly and Yukio laughed out loud into the night, causing Toshiros cheeks to light back up a nice warm red.

‘Alright, tomorrow it is. I hope you don’t mind, I filmed some of your song tonight when I realised what was happening, I didn’t expect you to be up on stage. Rukia had said she was performing or something that’s why we went, I didn’t anticipate…’ he trailed off and Toshiro was still trying to cool his cheeks down. ‘Would you perform that song for me again sometime?’

‘Um,’ he brought a hand up to run through his hair. Up ahead Rukia and Rangiku were standing outside one of the bars opposite the national history museum, ‘I don’t… I mean…’

‘You’re still so shy…’ Yukios voice sounded like a gentle coo as if this were one of the things he absolutely loved most about Toshiro. The prodigy shrugged his shoulders as they walked closer to the girls.

‘Have a good talk?’ Rangiku teased and Toshiro instantly looked at his feet.

‘Have you kissed him yet?’ Rukia asked and Toshiros eyes went wide as he gazed stupidly at her, she was looking pointedly at Yukio.

‘Ah, no,’ he laughed and brought a hand up to rub the back of his head. ‘Not yet.’

NOT YET!? His heart was hammering, oh god, did he want to kiss him? He knew he liked him but did that involve physical contact, could that be a thing? Could Yukio actually want to do that? He actually felt like a panic attack was coming on at the thought and yet it was an exhilarating feeling.

‘That’s a bummer, was kind of thinking you’d have swept him off his feet by now,’ Rukia rolled her eyes and Rangiku was grinning broadly down at Toshiro with that smug look that usually meant; I told you so.

‘Maybe if you all stop pressuring me and leave me alone,’ Yukio laughed and Toshiro turned to him, he was blushing furiously and Toshiro blinked. He’d seen him blush before but never had he seen him blush for something that was brought on by him, he could now take the time to really enjoy it, really enjoy that blush and it was adorable. Just downright adorable, it made him want to reach out to him…

‘Come on hurry up Toshiro you’re meant to be buying the first round,’ it was Renji who was rolling his eyes and holding the door open. ‘Ichigo got us a table, now move your asses.’

The night passed in a blur, the group made a point of having Yukio sit beside Toshiro and made jibes at the boys all night. Rukia did not pay for a single drink and instead everyone in the group took it in turns to buy rounds and they were soon all pretty hammered. Toshiro was feeling a lot more confident now with a drink in him. Not quite confident enough to try anything though. He could feel the heat emitting off of Yukios arm and it was so strange to him to be so close… to be so close and knowing that he could… reach out and touch him and that Yukio would likely be fine with it?

‘What is _that_?’ Renjis voice drawled pointing to the fiendishly pink drink sitting on the table in front of Yukio. Toshiro was eyeing it with amusement as well, his own coke and rum combination looking like an old mans drink next to the stunningly decorative floral pink.

‘ _That_ would be a strawberry daiquiri Renji,’ Yukio chuckled with a hint of amusement.

‘You’re so gay,’ Renji laughed and Yukio took a deep breath and sat back in his chair.

‘You know Renji, you clearly don’t know class,’ he waved a hand to his lavish pink drink then pointed at the clear liquid of Renjis vodka and lemonade. ‘That is a terrible drink developed in Poland and was originally meant to be used as a medicine and for cleaning medical utensils… _ohhh_ sexy. _This,’_ he indicated the lavish curvaceous glass decorated with a red umbrella and strawberry slices. ‘Was developed by an American engineer, named after a beach and served to the US military and Navy,’ he shrugged his shoulders. ‘So tell me again whose drink is more manly?’

‘Doesn’t say much about your military I’ll tell you that,’ Renji scoffed but otherwise scowled into his drink as Toshiro and the others laughed out loud.

‘Hey Toshiro, I have a video you might want to see,’ Rukia grinned and handed her phone over the table towards him as he took a sip of his own drink. Yukio leaned dangerously close to him, bobbing his head as he tried to get the straw into his mouth from his own girly drink while being absolutely plastered.

‘Is this?’ Toshiros stomach flipped as he watched the hall where the talent show was playing coming into view.

‘You filmed it all?’ Yukio muttered and chuckled, ‘can I get a copy of this video for my vlog?’ Their banter fell into the background as Toshiro watched the screen, the others cheered and laughed when they saw Rukia and Renji scowled.

‘Why are you filming us?’ he asked.

‘Because you’re sexy,’

‘Shouldn’t you be getting ready to go up on stage?’ Ichigo jumped in and at that moment they all heard Toshiros name being announced. It was clear that Rukia had turned back around but the camera was still being pointed at Yukio, Ichigo and Renji. They weren’t exactly centred in the video and only the over zealous cheers of Rukia and Rangiku could be heard deafening the audio of the listeners.

Yukios face was in shock, he stood blinking for a while, his mouth falling open the same way it had when Toshiro had turned to look at him. Soon the blond was scampering to pull his own camera out to record what was happening on stage. Toshiro couldn’t believe he’d missed the camera in the boys hand when he’d turned to look a second time. At first the blond looked confused as did the other two boys then Toshiro heard the song start and once again Yukios mouth fell open.

‘Fuck me he can sing,’ Yukio said and Ichigo took in a deep breath turning to look at Renji who also looked very shocked.

‘He’s really good,’ Ichigo confirmed.

‘Is there anything he can’t do?’ Renji said sarcastically, ‘must be hard to try and compare to that eh Yukio?’ the blonds face fell at the comment and Toshiro had to hold back the urge to reach out to the tiny phone screen and stroke it. He didn’t like watching Yukio frown, the blonds face was made for smiles and laughs only.

‘Wait… is this song…’ Ichigo leaned down to Yukios ear now and spoke, ‘I think this song is about you.’

‘Shut up no it’s not, he doesn’t like me remember?’

‘Are we listening to same song dumbass?’ Renji added and Yukio scowled at them. They were all silent for a while as they continued to listen, recognition dawning on Yukios face a little each time a new line of the song was sung.

‘Definitely about you,’ Ichigo laughed and jabbed a finger into his side causing Yukio to smile.

The video ended when they were all cheering so enthusiastically that Rukia dropped the camera. Toshiro glanced back up the table at his friend and grinned at her.

‘Can you send me that too?’ he asked handing it back over and she laughed and nodded.

‘So Yukio are you taking Toshiro home tonight?’ Rangiku asked and Toshiro choked on his drink.

‘Well, I was-‘

‘Because you two need to have a proper talk.’ She folded her arms, ‘why did you kiss Ichigo?’ she asked and Yukio and Ichigo both started at the table and looked so uncomfortable.

‘Well I um-‘

‘Because he should know, did he tell you?’ Rangiku leaned over the table to Toshiro who shook his head and she scowled. ‘So Toshiro should know.’

‘Hang on, why should Toshiro know?’ Yukio turned to gaze at Toshiro and he could feel his face heating back up as he glared at Rangiku.

‘You didn’t _tell_ him?’ she flailed her arms, ‘holy fucking cow Toshiro what the fuck were you two even talking about on the walk down here? Did you just cave man grunt about football games or something?’

‘Hey! Nothing wrong with football-‘

‘Oh shut up Renji,’ Rangiku scowled at the male and glared back at Toshiro, ‘I thought you two were going to have an open and honest conversation about everything?’

‘I-well we-‘

‘Well you’re not getting back into the house tonight, you can go and stay with Yukio tonight.’ She scowled at him and Toshiro felt his face flushing.

‘Wait, that’s not fair-‘

‘You’re more than welcome to stay at mine Toshiro I have the room,’ he waved a hand at Rangiku. ‘Don’t get your knickers in a twist.’ They all laughed at the completely British thing that just slipped out the Californians mouth.

‘Look I was going to wait to talk to you after,’ he made a gesture so no one knew that he was referring to the date. ‘But I’ll just tell you everything tonight,’ he’d slipped a hand behind Toshiro to rest it against the back of the chair and Rangiku cackled wickedly in success.

‘When you find out let me and Rangiku know so we can fill in our blanks too,’ Rukia chuckled tipping a glass to them. Toshiros face was on fire so he tried to make it appear like it was the alcohol by drinking more of it. He couldn’t believe this, he was going to Yukios after the bar… he was going to be alone with the blond in his apartment at night.

‘We can watch that scary movie,’ Yukio had leaned over and his hot breath now brushed Toshiros ear. Hairs rose on the back of his neck and he could feel warmth pool in his stomach as he closed his eyes. The blond was very close to him, too close and Toshiros heart was hammering in his chest.

Since Rukia had to catch a train early hours the night ended at around 11pm for the friends. They bid Rukia farewell and she left with Renji in a taxi. Ichigo and Rangiku shared a taxi too since the tall woman had a drink she said she’d just pick up her car the next morning. That left Toshiro alone with Yukio… drunk… he had his glasses in his pocket but no set of spare clothes, not even a tooth brush to stay over the blonds and demanded that they stop into a late night corner store so he could buy one before they headed home. This night was either going to go very well, either they’d admit how much they loved each other, make out all night and cuddle or Toshiro would find out he was the pawn in some kind of elaborate joke where everyone would yell “SURPRISE!”

He was sure of a couple of things though. He was undeniably in love with Yukio, the blond had admitted feelings for him. He was terrified of horror movies and he was consumed by alcohol. Either way it was going to be a very _very_ interesting evening.  


	11. Clarity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ;D

The door closed behind him and he was alone, the apartment was dark and empty and cold. Yukio quickly darted about switching on lights and apologising for the cold as he played with the settings for the heater.

‘I’m sorry, it will heat up soon I promise, we can put the fire on, it blows out hot air like you wouldn’t believe.’

‘Is it a real fire?’ Toshiros eyes were now on the wide lavish leather corner sofa with huge footrests in the same material. In front of it was a beautiful old stone looking fireplace with a screen displayed and above it mounted on the wall not too high off the ground was a large TV.

‘No, it just displays a picture of a fire and blows out hot air,’ he chuckled and Toshiro felt a bit of colour dusting his cheeks, of course that’s why it had a screen. He felt like an idiot and he’d only been in the apartment for a couple of minutes.

‘Do you...’ Yukio was looking at him. ‘Do you want to dress into something more comfortable?’ Toshiro glanced down at his tight skinny jeans and dark black t-shirt. He’d already shed his shoes and his coat hung with Yukios on the back of the apartment door. It was true that skinny jeans were not the most comfortable thing to lounge in and watch a movie but he’d only worn them because Rangiku had once again dressed him.

 

* * *

 

**Flashback…**

* * *

 

 

Toshiro ran the bar of soap over his chest at least this was helping to keep his mind off the upcoming talent show. Rukia would be over in a couple of hours and he wanted to at least look nice for going up on stage.

‘Toshiro!’ Rangiku had walked into the bathroom again and he gritted his teeth and turned his back to her in the shower.

‘Rangiku how many times-‘

‘Don’t forget to shave and wash your ass, you never know how this night will go.’ At these words he dropped the soap bar in the shower. It slipped melodramatically from his grasp and fell with a loud thud onto the white porcelain bottom.

‘Rangiku!’ he squeaked, not bending over until she was gone to pick it up. A hot flush was creeping its way across his chest and up his neck.

‘Well you never know like I said, he might jump you after the song, sweep you off your feet and carry you off while kicking Ichigo out the way. I mean really Tosh how many romantic comedies have we watched together now?’

‘I-Rangiku please get out,’ he groaned.

‘Rather be too prepared than not prepared at all right? Imagine how embarrassing it would be if you started to get down and dirty and you hadn’t shaved your ass-‘

‘PLEASE LEAVE!’

‘Okay well I left that cute pair of tight skinny jeans out for you that make your ass look great and a lovely black polo shirt, please wear them.’

‘Fine! I will just please leave.’

He listened as his inappropriate strawberry blond friend finally left the bathroom and he quickly swooped down to retrieve his bar of soap. He put it back on the dish and gazed over to his razor. There was no way in hell anything would happen tonight between him and Yukio, the odds of it were pretty much less than 0%. The prodigy lifted the razor off its shelf anyway.

 

* * *

 

**End of flashback**

* * *

 

‘I didn’t bring anything else to wear,’ he mumbled and Yukio smiled at him.

‘You could wear something of mine?’ he wasn’t sure where his body’s constant need to blush came from every single time the blond opened his mouth but he did and he quickly shook his head.

‘I-I’ll be fine don’t worry.’

‘Alright,’ Yukio looked amused when Toshiro looked up at him. He was smirking as he watched him and Toshiro just felt more heat rise into his cheeks as he walked past the blond.

‘So um, are we going to be watching it here?’ he indicated the couch and Yukio nodded.

‘Yeah but first, do you want a drink of anything? I figured we could… talk first,’ Toshiro turned back around. Yukio had walked into the open plan kitchen area and opened his cabinets.

‘Oh um, well maybe what do you have?’ Toshiro walked towards one of the tall bar stools and hopped up with some difficulty.

‘I do have Jack Daniels if you’d like one with coke?’ he asked and Toshiro nodded, he poured them both a drink and stood facing him across the breakfast bar.

‘So, I feel like I have some explaining to do,’ he started with a smile and Toshiro quickly drunk some of his drink. He’d be needing alcohol surely to listen to all the information that was about to come out of the blonds mouth. ‘So I came to the University and as you can imagine I was swamped by some people who recognised me. I tried to break free of the crowed and Ichigo and Renji came to my rescue by helping to hide me from the hoards of fan girls. Rukia directed them away from where I was and that’s how we all got talking. Ichigo is very… forward…’ he chuckled and shook his head and Toshiro wanted to know what he meant by that.

‘Ichigo and I got on well right from the beginning, we have very similar personality traits which is why I think he’d be good for youtube.’ Toshiro nodded at these words, he knew that Ichigo had been helping the blond with many of his videos recently and the Yukies just adored him. Ichigo had the charismatic personality that could draw anyone to him.

‘Trouble with Ichigo is, if he likes someone,’ Yukio grinned at him from across the bar, ‘then he doesn’t have a Scooby how to act around them, take you for example. Throwing paper balls at your head? The moment there is a romantic attachment with Ichigo he becomes a lot more awkward that should have been a clue to you that he didn’t like me in the first place.’ Toshiro digested these words and blinked down at his drink. Of course, Yukio and Ichigo had been so flirty with each other which anyone would naturally assume meant they were into each other but when Ichigo had been pursuing Toshiro. He’d been awkward, a bit mean and threw stuff at him to try and get his attention, that all seemed rather obvious now that it had been pointed out to him.

‘So I’d met those three before coming into that class, Ichigo had tried to give me a run down of all the people in the year the photography students, media and of course… audio.’ Yukio smiled a little and stirred the contents of his own glass with a straw. ‘He asked me if I had a type, I told him cute guys preferably those who wear glasses and I like them pretty passive and easily embarrassed.’ He smirked over at Toshiro and he could feel heat rising in his cheeks as he quickly looked back down at his hands.

‘Ichigo said he could only really think of one person matching that description and that I wouldn’t stand a chance.’ He clicked his tongue impatiently and Toshiro glanced back up to see him shaking his head. ‘I dislike being told I can’t do something,’ he shrugged his shoulders and fixed Toshiro with his emerald eye once again, it was softer this time. ‘When I walked into that class, I immediately saw you, sitting at the back of the room, thick black glasses and hair as white as snow, a bit cliché to say it was love at first sight but I definitely felt myself drawn to you.’

‘Oh,’ his heart felt like it had stopped thumping in his chest for a moment before starting up again. Its beats were faster, steady like a drum as he tried to take in the exact weight of what was being said to him.

‘But you weren’t interested, you didn’t give me your name and even though Shunsui said you were shy you didn’t even look at me for the rest of the day.’ There was no mistaking the hurt in his voice and Toshiro clenched his jaw. It was the same sad look he’d seen on the video Rukia had taken when Renji said that Toshiro was good at everything. ‘You fled the class the moment you were able too and took off running, everyone else came to meet me.’ He mumbled and frowned down at his drink. Toshiro didn’t like him being upset, he was Yukio! He was meant to be happy and smiling all the time.

‘I, I only ran because I was having a panic attack,’ he quickly corrected and the blond looked up at him. His large emerald eye full of questions, ‘I mean, my celebrity crush walks into my classroom in Scotland when I had just been watching a video of him in California that very morning. Then he proceeds to tell me he’s spending the year here and will be teaching us?’ Toshiro was shaking his head from side to side. ‘I was having a full blown panic attack and I had to leave.’ Yukios face had lit up as he spoke and the blond was grinning broadly.

‘I’m your celebrity crush?’ he asked, his voice undeniably smug.

‘I-‘ Toshiro felt his cheeks heat up once again and scowled at himself. Why did he have to confirm this? Why was talking about feelings and emotions so bloody hard? ‘No…’

‘That’s what you just said, you can’t take it back now,’ he looked beyond elated and Toshiro just let out a shaky breath of defeat. ‘Anyway, Ichigo realised something was bugging me because my eyes had totally followed you right out the door and he came over to me and gave me the whole “I told you so” speech.’ Yukio lifted his drink to his mouth and took a sip as if he were trying to remember something. ‘Ichigo stayed behind and invited me out after University that day, I mean I got a lot of invites but his was the least creepy especially because he and Renji admitted that they’d never heard of me before and pulled my youtube channel up in front of me and embarrassed me by playing a bunch of my videos and offering their own live reactions in that room.’ He laughed and shook his head, ‘Renji couldn’t make it and neither could Rukia they were working so I went to Ichigos place and we hung out all night. We just…’ he looked around the room trying to find the right word. ‘Clicked? It was weird, like we were meant to find each other. He reminded me a lot of my childhood best friend and we just got on. Not once did he make me feel like he was just wanting to hang out with me for the fame or money or anything, he was just always himself. He ordered us a chippy? Or whatever you call them? And he paid for it and everything.’

‘Ichigo is a nice guy,’ Toshiro offered boldly with a smile, ‘I never noticed before.’

‘Sometimes I wonder what would have happened between you two had you actually opened one of those paper balls up and saw it was a note.’

‘Me too,’ Toshiro frowned and shook his head, ‘but it clearly wasn’t mean to be considering that he liked Renji?’

‘Yeah so about that, me and Ichigo became good friends and eventually I saw that he was really close to me and Rukia but weird and distant with Renji. I cornered him about it one night and after a lengthy drawn out discussion and a lot of alcohol he finally admitted he’d been in love with the man for a year.’ Yukio flinched at something and shook his head with a grin, ‘he told me some details I did not need to know such as his penis size but by that point he was fairly hammered which was my fault so I can hardly blame him.’ Toshiro chuckled at these words, he felt himself beginning to relax in the presence of the blond for the first time ever. It was nice, to sit here and have a one on one conversation while finding out everything that he’d be dying to know for so damn long. ‘So I finally set up a deal with him, I told him I’d play wingman and matchmaker and do everything in my power to help him get with Renji and in return…’ he grinned into his drink as he sipped it without the straw.

‘In return?’ Toshiro prompted after a few moments longer of silence.

‘In return he’d help me get you.’

‘Oh,’ Toshiro blinked and leaned back a little startled, that had not been what he had been expecting to hear at all. ‘So everything… everything that happened was to either get Renji for Ichigo or…’

‘Or you for me, yeah,’ Yukio smirked at him and nodded, ‘I can answer most of your questions if there’s been a time in particular that you want to know about?’

‘So many,’ Toshiro was smiling, he felt elated, happy and terrified all in the one go. He finally found out that the blond boy of his dreams did not have a crush on Ichigo, was not in love with him and was not going to marry him. He leaned back in the chair and was thoughtful as he tried to think about the times he’d most like to know about. ‘The first day you walked into the audio room with Rukia and the others to see me, you were blushing and looking at Ichigo.’ Toshiro leaned back across the table with a grin on his face. ‘What was that about?’

‘Easy,’ Yukio scoffed waving a hand, ‘he knew you were in that room and he had made a sexual joke that earned a blush on my face.’ The Californian boy squared his shoulders and stood up a little straighter, bringing his hands up onto the bunker to support him. Though he wore a long sleeved navy blue jumper Toshiro could still see the faint outlines of the boys muscles through the fabric, they were making his mouth go dry. ‘I don’t remember the joke though it was just a fleeting comment.’

‘What about the club? When you all invited me out… you and Ichigo were dirty dancing.’ Toshiros eyes went from his arms back to his face where he was smiling at him.

‘Yeah that, well, by that point Ichigo and I had worked out that Renji was harbouring some feelings for him. They’d nearly kissed before we got to the club with you. I didn’t see it myself but Renji went to the bar with him and the girl behind the bar had said something about a free shot for the couples at the bar and to try and get a free shot Renji had said he and Ichigo were together,’ Yukio made a face and scowled. ‘Little bit insensitive on his part considering he knew how Ichigo felt about him, anyway she asked they demonstrate and Ichigo got all hopeful and Renji leaned in but backed out last moment.’ Yukio finished the contents of his glass after he was finished speaking. ‘So we came up with a new tactic, try and make Renji jealous, see if we could flush out his feelings that way.’

‘This makes so much more sense now,’ Toshiro sighed, leaning back against the back of the stool and finishing the contents of his own glass. ‘So when you guys went to dirty dance you were doing it to try and make Renji jealous?’

‘Bingo,’ Yukio winked at him… at least Toshiro assumed it was a wink and not just a blink since he couldn’t see the boys other eye. ‘We seemed to be getting the right kind of reaction from him while he sat watching us but you wouldn’t know would you?’ Yukio smirked at him as he picked the two glasses up off the table. ‘You were too busy watching us as well to see what Renjis face looked like.’

‘So um, when Ichigo got upset… I thought it was because we were dancing together…’ Toshiro quickly tried to change the topic and the blond boy laughed as he went about pouring them another drink each.

‘No, Rukia was away dancing with her girl and I saw the perfect opportunity to steal you away as well and give the boys some alone time at the table.’ He straightened up and turned around to Toshiro with a frown, ‘that was after that kiss of course.’

‘Oh,’ Toshiro looked at his lap, ‘yeah Ichigo clearly dared me in the hopes I’d kiss you?’ the words didn’t leave his mouth easily as he felt himself instantly flush at the idea.

‘Yeah he did, we were both pretty bummed that it didn’t work out.’

‘What did you expect? I just saw you dancing with Ichigo I assumed you two were getting together so why would I try to break you two up?’

‘I know, not our brightest idea.’ Yukio was thoughtful as he added ice into the glasses and gazed off out the darkened window. ‘We were drunk but let me tell you… that guy got one hell of a kiss. That was hard to watch.’ He mumbled the last part and glanced down at the glasses which he was now stirring with that same sad look on his face.

‘ _That_ kiss was hard to watch?’ Toshiro scowled, it felt better to talk about the Ichigo and Yukio kiss now but the memory still hurt him.

‘Yeah, I’ll get to that part, but watching you wrapped around that tall guy was hard. I didn’t think you’d have the balls to kiss anyone outside our immediate circle, so Ichigo assumed you knew the guy and told me he’d try to investigate and call me later about it.’

‘Alright, so what happened between Renji and Ichigo when we were dancing?’ he was curious now. He’d never considered himself a gossip but now he wanted to understand just all the weird and wonderful things that had been happening among his group of friends for the last 5 to 6 months.

‘Well, Ichigo didn’t want to go into detail about that with me, apparently Renji said something mean about him dancing with me.’ Yukio brought the drinks over to the table and slid his glass over to him and Toshiro took it with a thankful smile. ‘Renji doesn’t like being made to feel jealous and since that was the first time he’d been made to feel that way I think he just snapped at Ichigo and made some rude comments about fucking me.’ Yukio bit his bottom lip, I called Ichigo when we got home after the group texts and explained to him that only meant it was working. If we could provoke a reaction like that from him then he must have had some kind of feelings for him. Ichigo also informed me that you did know the guy but you didn’t have his number?’

‘Kai? He’s always come by when I Dj, he has a thing for me,’ Toshiro shrugged nonchalantly, ‘I figured he’d be the only person in the club that wouldn’t embarrassingly draw back away from me since I wanted to try and make you feel the same way I felt when you danced with Ichigo.’

‘You know,’ Yukio was looking a little smug now as he stirred his drink with a straw again, ‘despite everything you said before I’m beginning to think you _do_ like me.’

‘So that explains the German Market,’ Toshiro was trying to completely ignore the comment he’d just said, ‘I’m guessing when you were blushing after I gave you my jacket it was because Ichigo said something to you again?’

‘Yeah he whispered it because Renji was sitting there,’ Yukio rolled his eyes, ‘he said something along the lines of “first his jacket then his sperm” or something very inappropriate.’ Toshiro almost choked on his drink, heat creeping up his neck and he quickly looked away from Yukio when the blond grinned at him.

‘So um, when you came over to mine…’

‘Yeah well I did… try to make a move on you,’ Toshiro looked up again and noticed that it was Yukios turn to look a bit embarrassed and uncomfortable. ‘When you put your glasses on, I couldn’t help myself. I have a total weakness for them… I leaned in but you totally leaned away and looked at me like I was going to try and eat you.’ Yukio shrugged, ‘so I just kind of lost my nerve a little but I’ve thought about it.’

‘Th-thought about it?’

‘Yeah, about kissing you,’ Yukio was now staring directly at him and Toshiros mouth had gone dry again, the heat not receding from his face. ‘I bet your lips are cold and soft,’ he mumbled leaning over the table and instinctively Toshiro leaned back. ‘See, there you did it again.’

‘S-sorry,’ Toshiro gulped, ‘I just… its habit.’ Yukio didn’t look upset, he looked a little amused actually as he watched Toshiro. The prodigy fidgeted with his own fingers on his lap.

‘How on earth do you expect to get a guy when you keep leaning away from them every time they try to make a move?’ he asked, his voice was still amused but he was clearly very curious.

‘Well, I dunno… maybe write them a song?’ he flushed as he stared down at his lap, there was a beats silence then Yukio was laughing.

‘That’s actually a good point,’ he chuckled. ‘When I said to Ichigo I liked shy guys I didn’t mean impossibly shy though,’ he was shaking his head and then rolled his eye. ‘Anyway, then you said that Renji was in your wet dream and I don’t know… it just seemed like you weren’t into me at all.’ The blond shrugged his shoulders.

‘Oh um yeah…’ Toshiro blushed and he looked away, ‘t-that was a lie.’

‘What?’ Yukio snapped his fingers trying to bring his eyes back to his own and Toshiro glanced at him his entire face lit up as he did so. ‘What do you mean it was a lie?’

‘It wasn’t Renji…’ Toshiro mumbled.

‘Oh god, please tell me it was me, please?’ he was grinning enthusiastically now and Toshiro bit his lip and nodded his head once. ‘AHA!’ he barked and leapt into the air pumping a fist dramatically, ‘success!’ He brought his fist back up and pumped it again even more slowly this time, ‘ _success…_ ’ he drawled. ‘Was I good?’

‘Wha-?’

‘Did I fuck you?’ he was grinning manically now and Toshiro couldn’t stop the embarrassed moan that slipped passed his lips. ‘I can be pretty rough when it comes to sex so it’d be nice to know that’s what you were thinking of?’ he was grinning and Toshiro shook his head.

‘I am not discussing this,’ he said quickly.

‘Spoil sport,’

‘Yeah, yeah,’ Toshiro was trying to fight back the waves of embarrassment. ‘What the hell were you thinking about? Kissing Ichigo?’ he glared at the male and the smug look slipped off his face.

‘Ah, yeah sorry but I was convinced you didn’t like me so thought fuck it. Ichigo is a good friend, Renji needed one last push.’ Yukio shrugged his shoulder, ‘it was the only way he was going to take us seriously. He’d sort of worked out what we were doing that’s why when they interrupted us in the audio room Ichigo looked so mad. Renji had just said they’d find us kissing or something more because Renji realised I liked you.’

‘How did Renji and Ichigo know before me?’ Toshiro groaned and glared at his glass.

‘Really? Wasn’t it obvious? Jesus Toshiro you’re a bit obtuse,’ he chuckled and folded his beautifully large arms over his chest as he smiled across the bunker to him. ‘Anyway I’m sorry if it hurt you-‘

‘Hurt me?’ Toshiro rolled his eyes, ‘not in the slightest, it wasn’t like I cried or anything.’

‘W-wait you cried?’ Yukio blinked, his arms falling back down to his sides.

‘Doesn’t matter,’ Toshiro shook his head and Yukio frowned.

‘I didn’t mean for that to happen I’m sorry, next time give a guy something… anything to let him know you like him. I’d not have done it if I thought there was even the slightest chance you were interested. I just assumed you didn’t care and it was Ichigo… there’s nothing like that between us.’

‘The kiss looked very convincing,’ Toshiro mumbled into his drink.

‘It had to be, Renji figured us out, so he needed a proper push.’ Yukio was thoughtful for a while, he still seemed a bit annoyed at himself for hurting him. ‘As soon as he saw us kissing he literally walked over, yanked Ichigo off me by the scruff of his shirt and kissed him up against the wall. It was a total success, they both invited me to their room but I declined.’ He chuckled and shook his head, ‘I tried to text you after to find out where you had gone but Rukia said you left in a hurry because Rangiku was ill.’

‘Yeah, Ran was ill but… I- Jesus this would all have been so much easier if I’d spoken to you sooner.’ He mumbled rubbing his temples with his hands.

‘Yeah tell me about it,’ Yukio smiled and leaned his arms back on the bunker again for a while and they were both comfortably silent.

‘So you didn’t go for the threesome thing?’ Toshiro asked, trying to break the silence and move the topic onto a lighter note.  

‘Nah but that reminds me! Your book,’ he left the kitchen and made his way through the living room to his hall and off somewhere Toshiro couldn’t see. He waited patiently as he had a chance to digest everything that had been said so far. Yukio wasn’t in love with Ichigo, he liked Toshiro and always had and he’d thought about kissing him… Toshiro gulped, he’d have to stop leaning away.

‘The book was good,’ Yukio came back in and handed Toshiro back the book he’d borrowed. ‘I didn’t expect it to be as dirty as that,’ he was grinning at Toshiro who instantly blushed.

‘Well there’s a lot more to the story than just-‘

‘The three way sex scenes?’

‘Yeah,’ Toshiro gulped and Yukio wriggled his eyebrows.

‘You’re into some kinky stuff Toshiro I’ll give you that, have you ever thought about a threesome?’

‘I-What!?’ the blush had exploded completely back over his face as he stammered back, holding the book tightly to his chest. ‘I-no!’ It was one thing mentioning it to Yukio as a joke another thing entirely too actually think of himself in one.

‘Really? Because after reading that I thought about it,’ he shrugged his shoulders innocently and smirked at the reaction on Toshiros face. ‘Not with Renji and Ichigo mind you…’

‘I mean… maybe I’ve thought about being one of the characters in the scenes before…’ Toshiro admitted and Yukio chuckled in success as he lifted his drink from the counter and pointed towards the couch in the living area.

‘We’ll be more comfortable over there.’

‘Alright,’ Toshiro left his drink on the counter and slid to the ground first before picking it up and heading towards the couch. Yukio put his drink down on the stones of the fireplace and Toshiro copied him then the blond moved around the back of the sofa. He had never really seen Yukios muscles at work except for the odd youtube video, so watching him push the lavish couch forward was a treat. It meant they would only have to reach a short distance for their glasses since there were no nearby tables.

‘Which character did you picture yourself as? The uke?’

‘The what?’

‘The receiver, the small guy, can’t remember his name, he reminded me of you though.’ Yukio pulled a throw from the top of the couch and unfolded it onto the couch for them. Toshiro slipped onto the couch too, the two massive foot rests had been placed directly between the couch and the fireplace so they could stretch their feet out towards the fake fire which was now just blowing at a moderate heat setting.

‘I-yeah, I guess…’

‘I figured you weren’t the kind of guy who would screw someone else, have you?’

‘N-No,’ he was trying to focus on adjusting the throw that Yukio had gently tossed over the couch. He placed it over his lap and fidgeted with the edges.

‘But you’re not a virgin right?’ Yukio stopped as he lifted a remote from a table to the far right of the room.

‘N-No,’ Toshiro mumbled. He didn’t like having these kinds of chats with people it felt inappropriate.

‘Are you lying?’ Yukio had made his way back over to the couch and hung across the side of it to gaze down at Toshiro. The prodigy took a deep breath and turned his large teal eyes up to the man.

‘I was dating a guy called Kusaka for a couple of years, he was…’ Toshiro screwed his face up. ‘A bit of a dick but at the time it was just nice to have someone paying me some kind of attention. I didn’t have many friends,’ he shrugged his shoulders and pulled his glasses case from his pocket to place on the stone fireplace. ‘He was quite selfish in the bedroom though,’ Toshiro smiled a little to himself, ‘he used to come quite quickly as well.’

‘Did he?’ Yukio laughed as he slipped onto the couch and lifted the covers so he could slip in closer to Toshiro. Suddenly the young male was feeling very warm, though Yukio wasn’t too close, there was still a good two feet of space separating them.

‘Yeah, not that that’s a problem I just used to take it as a compliment, sometimes it would be frustrating though,’ he frowned at the TV screen which had just come on. There was a picture of a creepy looking ancient house on its own and Toshiro was sure he could see a figure in the window as the title ‘House of Shadows’ flashed across the screen.

‘Frustrating? How so?’ Yukio was turned towards him, one arm leaning against the back of the couch and supporting his temple on a fist, his other arm hidden beneath the cover.

‘Just…’ Toshiro could feel heat creeping into his face. ‘Don’t… I don’t want to… can we not discuss this?’ he whined as he continued to play with the cover and occasionally glance at the boy. Yukio looked beyond smug now.

‘Please tell me? Why was him coming early frustrating?’ he grinned and Toshiro groaned, he lifted the cover up and sunk down into the couch trying to cover his face and his blush.

‘Because like… I don’t know sometimes you just want it to last a long time or something.’

‘You’re really not good at talking about this are you?’ he cooed gently, bringing his other hand up to try and tug at the cover that was now concealing half of Toshiros face.

‘No I’m not…’

‘How long would he normally last?’

‘Usually about… ten minutes at most?’ Toshiro offered shyly, not letting go of the cover and heard Yukio laughing somewhere to his right.

‘Ten minutes is that all? Did he never pull out and wait a while so he could keep going? That’s how you get your most intense orgasms anyway, you stop for a while.’

‘So you’re not a uke?’ Toshiro asked glancing over at him from the top of the cover.

‘No,’ he quickly shook his head, his face losing all traces of humour. ‘No, I’m always top, I can’t be bottom again.’

‘Again?’ Toshiro was curious he knew Yukio had had a boyfriend in the past. ‘Was it Shukuro?’

‘My ex? Nah, I was never bottom with him.’ Yukio smirked at the obvious look of shock that crossed Toshiros features.

‘I think the entire Yuki world thought I was the bottom in that relationship just because he was significantly taller than me.’ Yukio chuckled and glanced thoughtfully around at the TV as he contemplated. ‘I guess I can see it but no I wasn’t bottom for him.’

‘Who… was it?’

‘Story for another day,’ he nodded to the screen and it was clear he was trying to avoid the topic. Toshiro frowned, he wanted to hear more about it but it seemed like a sensitive topic so he turned to the movie and groaned.

‘This is that scary movie?’ he reached over to pick up his glasses case and pulled them out to slip them on.

‘Yeah it is, god you look so good with your glasses on.’ Yukio mumbled and Toshiro turned to him, there was a faint dusting of pink across his cheeks and he was refusing to meet his gaze. ‘Is it hot in here or is it just me?’

‘It’s a bit warm now,’ Toshiro mumbled shyly as Yukio leaned over to press the off button on the fireplace and sat back to press play on the movie.

‘I don’t like scary movies,’ he mumbled as he pulled the covers up his face, shielding most of it from view and heard Yukio chuckle at his side.

‘I’m kind of banking on that,’ he muttered but the opening scenes had started and the movie now held his attention. It was an intense movie about a married gay couple and their woes of their relationship. When a door slammed or something frightening happened Toshiro would jump and quickly bring the covers up to shield his face from view, closing his eyes and trying to remind himself it wasn’t real. About halfway through there was a rather vivid sex scene out on the grass at the back of the house, Toshiro was sure they’d cut away but literally they saw _everything._ It left his cheeks burning and his trousers rather tighter than usual and he buried his face into the cover in embarrassment. What a scene to be watching when he was lying on a couch with Yukio.

‘Is this making you uncomfortable?’ Yukio asked, his voice very sarcastic and Toshiro refused to look at him. He quickly shook his head from side to side but did not remove it from the cover as the sound of moaning filled the room of the apartment. ‘Have you ever been like that? So boneless and disorientated that you’ve not been aware of the noises you were making?’ Yukios voice was lower, huskier as he asked the question.

‘I d-don’t think so…’ Toshiro mumbled, trying to drown out the sound of the intense orgasm that seemed to signify the end of the horny scene. ‘I mean Kusaka didn’t used to last long enough for me to lose control like that.’

‘New goals,’ Yukio chuckled.

‘What?’ Toshiro was sure of what he heard and he quickly glanced up at the blond who was grinning broadly.

‘Oh nothing,’ Yukio kept his gaze on the screen and Toshiros erection died in his pants the moment more scary stuff happened in the movie. Every door closing and jump he’d fall for, wincing and covering his face with the cover. His heart hammering in his chest, why couldn’t they watch a nice little romantic comedy? Why did Yukio subject him to this?

‘Do you want me to make up a guest bedroom for you tonight?’ Yukio mumbled close to the end of the movie. Toshiros heart fell. Oh god, he was going to have to sleep alone in a room after watching this?

‘I-‘ Toshiro could tell the final act of the movie was coming up and he turned towards Yukio who was watching him curiously.

‘Or are you too scared to sleep alone?’ he was grinning in success and Toshiro scowled, was that why they’d watched a scary movie? He opened his mouth to retort but then shit started to get serious in the movie and his attention was drawn back. He was literally on the edge of his chair and was practically crying with what was happening on the screen. He found an arm being wrapped around his shoulder and winced, when did Yukio slip that close to him? His eyes were trained on the screen at what was happening and he flinched into Yukios chest at one part.

‘You can sleep beside me,’ Yukio muttered into his ear. ‘I’ll protect you, I promise,’ his voice was low and unbelievably husky as he mumbled it and Toshiro buried his face further into his chest as the movie came to an end. His glasses were going askew over his face but he didn’t care. The scent of Yukio seemed to be helping to drum out half of the scenes.

‘You’re so cute,’ he mumbled and Toshiro sat back with an indignant look on his face, he opened his mouth to retaliate but Yukio was leaning forward again. Instinctively Toshiro leaned back, but this time the blond was undeterred and followed him, that emerald eye was locked onto his lips and Toshiro slid down against the leather fabric as the blond crawled over him. His white hair hit the back of the leather and his eyes went wide through his glasses.

‘You’ve nowhere to go now,’ Yukio mumbled and Toshiro instantly blushed, a hand came up and gently slid his glasses up his face and onto his head, Yukio was unbelievably close to him. The blond had his knees on either side of his hips and his hands on either side of his head and Toshiro was lying flat back into the couch. The blond shuffled his weight so he was leaning on his left elbow more and using the same hand he’d used to move Toshiros glasses out of the way, he pressed a finger gently to his temple and ran it down his cheek across his jaw and gently touched his thumb to his lips. Toshiros heart was hammering in his chest, he was going to kiss him, Yukio was going to kiss him. The blond was leaning down and Toshiro closed his eyes. He could feel his breath dusting his face. This was it...


	12. Apartment Tour

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Guys I present to you... a 11,000 word lemon...

Yukio was leaning down, their eyes had closed and the blonds breath was dusting his face. The proximity alone was enough to send heat straight to Toshiros groin. He was waiting, basking in the closeness, his breath smelled of alcohol and there was something intoxicating about the scent. It was so potent he could practically taste it.

‘Can I kiss you?’ he breathed across Toshiros face, asking permission. Toshiro didn’t think his mouth would work, didn’t trust his tongue to come up with a comprehending reply so he brought one of his own hands up to lock it gently into the blonds hair and pulled his face down the last few inches to lock their lips together.

Toshiro had been waiting years. Spent countless nights and days dreaming about what this moment would feel like and even though he’d had quite the bit to drink, he was committing it to memory. Unlike his own, the boys’ lips were warm and wet, like he’d just ran his tongue over them before kissing him. The feeling was erotic, literally, heat was pooling all up and down Toshiros body and their lips hadn’t done anything more than just touch. He had to hide back a groan of longing, he’d waited far too long and the groan almost slipped by his lips when they were forced to part by Yukio opening his mouth. His breath was now flooding into his own mouth and then their lips were moving. Opening and closing in a gentle pace. Toshiro counted the kisses, the amount of times their mouths moved, opening and closing, the amount of times his breath snaked into his mouth. Toshiros hand was absently massaging the boys head, he was now completely hard and he didn’t care. He needed this, he’d needed this for so long it was like finally being able to breathe after being trapped under water.

Yukio pulled back for a moment as they both breathed in deeply, he didn’t go far though, moving his face to rub his nose gently against Toshiros and the prodigy sighed in content.

‘You taste better than I thought,’ without looking at him Toshiro knew he was smirking, ‘your lips are just as cold as I thought too.’ He leaned forward to capture them again and Toshiro sighed into the kiss. Yukio gently coaxed his mouth open again and this time his tongue slipped in, Toshiro tightened his hold in the boys blond locks to stop himself moaning. Really it would be indecent to moan right now, they weren’t even doing anything yet, not really. Yukios hands were still innocently by his head and his legs beside his hips, no one was touching anyone anywhere and yet that wet appendage that now lightly traced the side of his own with its tip was drawing more heat out of Toshiros usually cold body. Toshiro kept his tongue stationary for a while as Yukio lightly traced over it, then tip met tip and Toshiro pressed back a little before the boys tongue tried to retract back into his own mouth. Toshiro gave him a moment, allowing both boys to swallow back the saliva that was gathering before he chased the tongue back down with his own. Invading Yukios mouth with his own tongue felt amazing, even better because the blond instantly responded and his own wet muscle came out to clash against Toshiros own. The kiss was picking up speed and heat now and their innocent lip locking had turned into a fierce battle between two of the most used muscles in the human body. Toshiro relented and allowed Yukio to capture his tongue gently between his teeth, gently sucking on it and flicking the tip with his own. Eventually though Toshiro had to yank his tongue through the boys teeth and back into his own mouth to try and catch a breath. Yukio pulled back for a moment, his lips not going very far as they both panted against each others lips, breaths mingling even more than they had done from the kiss.

Then they were kissing again and Toshiros mind was going into overdrive, perhaps it was the alcohol perhaps it was what they were doing but the sexy lip locks were causing some form of chemical reaction in his brain. For so many years he’d dreamed of this, wondering how Yukio would taste, how the blond boy would feel and even if this make out session went no further he was very glad he’d got to experience some of it at least. How many people in the _world_ would pay everything they had to be in his position? He’d have happily been one of them, he’d have literally given up anything except Rangiku to end up exactly where he was right now; pinned to Yukios sofa with the blond hovering over him and the youtubers tongue in his mouth. The excitement and nervousness seemed to raging an internal war as he fought to try and keep the haze from engulfing him further. He was a fairly passive person when it came to anything sexual but something the blond had mentioned earlier seemed to be floating back. He’d mentioned he liked rough sex and an anxious anticipation had settled in his stomach as he thought about what that meant. Toshiro was almost curious to find out, though he’d never admit that out loud.

The blonds tongue had retracted back into his own mouth once again and this time he was happily sucking on Toshiros bottom lip which the prodigy noticed he was abusing quite greatly. He was biting it and running his tongue back along to sooth it and then returned to sucking again. The feeling was earning small whimpers from Toshiro, noises he knew he’d be embarrassed to make if it were any other circumstance or if he was even vaguely aware of what was going on. He felt his lower lip being returned moments later, swollen but tasting deliciously of the blonds own mouth as Toshiro lapped at it with his own tongue.

‘God you’ve no idea,’ Yukio mumbled, his mouth once again hovering just a couple of inches away from his own so that when he spoke his breath blew across Toshiros lips. ‘No idea, how long I’ve wanted to do that.’

‘I think I’ve been waiting longer,’ Toshiro mumbled surprised to find that his voice worked and that he didn’t stumble over his words at all. Yukio pulled back and was grinning down at him now, that one emerald eye half lidded but looking slightly amused as their gaze met.

‘Oh right, eager fan? Just how long have you been a fan?’ he asked and Toshiro could feel the heat rising in his cheeks again as he quickly shook his head. ‘Please, please tell me? If you do I’ll kiss you again,’ as if to emphasise his point he leaned in close so their breaths were mingling once more and Toshiro groaned to himself. It would be impossible – he realised – for him to ever deny Yukio anything after this, especially if the boy was going to tempt him with his lips.

‘Since you had about 100,000 subscribers,’ he mumbled and Yukio leaned back and laughed.

‘That’s been years,’ he looked very amused now and Toshiro closed his eyes as he willed the blush to go away. ‘How long have you been thinking of me, in that way?’ his voice had turned to that low sultry tone and he’d leaned back in again but Toshiro was strong! He shook his head, aware his glasses were slipping off his head as he did so. ‘Please tell me?’ he asked again pecking Toshiros swollen lips tenderly for a second time.

‘Since-’ Toshiro groaned and shook his head again but Yukio gave him another little encouraging peck on the lips. Toshiro could almost _feel_ the boys smugness as he did so. ‘Since you had about 100,000 subscribers,’ he finally admitted and he felt Yukios head flop to the side as he laughed into the couch.

‘You’re so fucking cute,’ he laughed and sit back up, ‘I always said to myself I’d never date a fan but I have a feeling had I not pursued you even a little we’d not be here, so it’s been pretty mutual for the last few months.’ He brought his right arm up to gently run it through Toshiros hair, completely removing his glasses onto the couch as he did so. The feeling of those fingers tugging gently through his snowy locks had his eyes fluttering shut. ‘Not to mention, you’re fucking gorgeous,’ he muttered that last part in his low sultry voice again.

Toshiro didn’t say anything, he simply made a noise of content at the back of his throat as those fingers continued to comb through his hair. The hair threading stopped for a moment Yukios hand closed around his wrist sliding it up the couch above his head, Toshiro opened his eyes and glanced up wondering if the boy was going to pin the limb above his head when he felt the blond shift his weight so he could do the same with Toshiros other hand. Toshiro looked at him questioningly but did not remove his hands from above his head as the smiling blond reached up to pick up Toshiros glasses and gently put them back on his face. Blurry lines came into focus and Toshiro blinked curiously at the odd movements. Yukio sat back again, his legs still straddling Toshiros waist and examined his work.

‘God,’ he groaned, his eye flickering over Toshiros body eagerly. Travelling up to the hands now above his head down to where his glasses sat perched on his face and down to the rest of his clothed torso. ‘You’ve no idea how badly I want you right now.’

Toshiro blinked up at him, his mind trying to fully comprehend what had just been said. He gulped as he processed it; Yukio wanted to have sex with him. He wanted to _fuck_ him, this was more than Toshiro had expected when he’d agreed to come over. Yet he realised that he was fully prepared and even though his erection had started to die and even though he was nervous as hell, he wanted nothing more than to have the blond buried deep inside him.

‘Take me,’ he mumbled the horribly cliché line and felt heat rise in his cheeks as Yukio blinked down at him.

‘What?’ he asked dumbly leaning down to try and hear him better.

‘I’m yours,’ he mumbled a little louder this time, wishing the flush to leave his face and knowing he was fighting a losing battle. ‘I always have been.’

Toshiro watched as Yukio sat back and a new look entered his face. His emerald eye was flickering over Toshiros body rapidly and it looked almost _possessive._ Toshiro swallowed thickly just as the blond made a rather animalistic noise at the back of his throat. His nostrils flared and his eye eventually met Toshiros again.

‘Are you sure?’ he was asking for consent, if he got it Toshiro wasn’t sure if the blond would stop. Judging by the look he’d just received it seemed like Yukio wanted this just as badly as he did perhaps more so because he did not hold the reservations or shyness that Toshiro did. Toshiro took a few moments weighing up what exactly would happen if he agreed, well they’d have sex. Did he want that? Fuck yes.

‘Yes,’ he nodded fighting back the waves of anxiousness, ‘definitely.’

‘You’re going to regret that,’ Yukio chuckled as he slid his hands under the back of Toshiros legs and yanked him down so that Yukio was nestled comfortably with his pelvis pressing against Toshiros ass. ‘I’m not Kusaka, I am rough and I know how to prolong sex, you won’t be walking straight tomorrow.’ He smirked, clearly trying to hold onto the last of his composure.

‘P-promise?’ Toshiro smiled shyly back at him and watched as he threw back his head and laughed loudly around the apartment; that laugh that was inexplicitly Yukio. The sound went straight to Toshiros heart, the sound of a happy and healthy Yukio Hans the stunningly gorgeous youtuber. He’d do everything and anything to continue to hear that, to see the boy smile to have him be happy.

‘I promise,’ he let his voice fall smoothly back into that sultry sexy tone as he leaned back down over Toshiro and captured his lips again. Being denied his lips for so long resulted in a much more satisfying kiss when he came back in Toshiro realised. It was like tasting him for the first time all over again and he had to wonder if it would always be like that? Would he always be so lucky to have the sensation of kissing Yukio feel like the first time every time? 

Yukio too soon was leaning back again and Toshiro felt himself trying to follow his lips eagerly and frowning when they went out of reach. He fixed his glasses which had gone askew on his face during the lip locks.

‘Well now,’ Yukio smirked as he brought a hand up to Toshiros cheek and ran his thumb across his lips wiping away any moisture left behind by the blond. ‘You’re wearing _far_ too many clothes for my liking right now, so that must be corrected asap.’ He removed the hand that had been gently touching Toshiros face and the prodigy felt the heat leave too as the hand moved to the base of his black polo shirt. The blond slipped his two hands under it and began to pull it up. Toshiro quickly sat up and kept his hands elevated above his head as the polo shirt was pulled off and tossed onto the floor behind the couch somewhere.

The room was warm as he fixed his glasses once more on the perch of his nose, pushing them up with a finger as he went to lie back down on the couch. He wasn’t at all embarrassed by his upper torso, Yukio had already seen it. Still the blonds’ eye devoured the sight before his two hands came to Toshiros jeans.

‘W-wait,’ Toshiro quickly reached down and grasped his wrist causing Yukio to pause and glance up at him. ‘I- aren’t you?’ he pointed to Yukios fully clothed body and the blond made a face.

‘I’ll take my top off, that’s all you’re getting,’ he finally said after a few seconds of silence and Toshiro scowled.

‘You do realise to have sex that we both have to be naked right?’ Toshiro wasn’t quite sure where his sass had come from and it seemed to catch Yukio off guard a little too as he smirked down at him.

‘Ohhh, really? Nah I think I’ll leave mine on.’ He reached down to grasp the hem of his t-shirt and pulled it up over his head. Toshiros teal eyes went wide, drinking in the sight. He had seen the boy topless in videos and even when they played poker but this was different. He was so close, too close to that lavish muscular frame. His stag necklace dangled down around his neck as he threw his long sleeved shirt over the couch to join Toshiros on the floor before bearing down on the younger male. ‘Besides, I want to take my time exploring your body,’ his eyes flickered up and down his body once again and Toshiro found that he couldn’t really argue with this. He wanted the blond to explore his body too.

‘I-‘ he felt stupid for bringing this up, not really sure if the blond would even care. ‘If you’re expecting… a Renji sized dick…’ he muttered and the blond burst out laughing once more.

‘No one, is Renjis sized did you see that thing? I’d have said it was photoshopped but I saw it with my own two eyes.’

‘You mean eye,’ Toshiro glanced curiously at where the blond hair covered his other eye as Yukio went about lazily popping the button on his jeans and lowering his zip. ‘Can you seriously see with your left eye under all that?’

‘Of course I can, it’s a bit disjointed but look,’ he leaned down very close to Toshiro and the prodigy resisted the urge to shut his eyes at the proximity. He tried to gaze through the mop of blond hair and he gasped. He could see his eye! It was faint but it was there, which meant all this time Yukio could probably see out from under that messy fringe. ‘Told you,’ he mumbled and Toshiro let the shock wash away being replaced by awe as he realised that the blonds muscled torso was now dangerously close to pressing against his own. Toshiro brought a hand up between them and briefly touched the muscled chest when the blond removed it and pinned it above his head.

‘Oh no you don’t,’ he chuckled his eye sparkling with mischief. ‘I’ll maybe let you touch me once I’m done abusing every inch of your skin with my mouth.’ He glanced down between them as he spoke, and Toshiro slumped his head back on the couch. He didn’t like this game.

‘Hurry up,’ he muttered and Yukio chuckled as he sat back up and brought his hands into the waistband of Toshiros jeans.

‘You stopped me to tell me you didn’t have a Renji sized dick remember? That wasn’t my fault.’

‘No but it’s true,’ he mumbled the flush coming back to his face now that he was reminded about it. ‘If you’re expecting me to be well equipped… you might be disappointed.’

‘Toshiro you’re tiny, as far as adult men go you’re miniscule I kind of had an idea that you wouldn’t exactly be packing,’ he smirked and began to tug down his jeans. Toshiro whimpered but lifted his ass off the couch to allow the blond to pull them down anyway. He realised that Yukio was removing both his boxers and jeans all in one go and felt an embarrassed heat creep up his neck as he soon exposed to the boy. Yukio didn’t stop to examine him but instead took his time removing his socks too.

‘You can keep your glasses,’ Yukio muttered, ‘they stay on.’ Toshiro nodded his head in confirmation as the blond now took to openly staring at him.

‘It’s bigger when it’s erect I promise,’ he tried to say but Yukio took no notice instead he was smiling as he lightly began to trace a finger from under Toshiros belly button downwards. Toshiro swallowed thickly at the feeling, he subconsciously began to spread his legs a little, rather invitingly to the blond and blushed furiously when he realised he’d done it. Yukio was smirking at him, that obnoxious finger was tracing down dangerously close to his dick before slipping sideways and moving down towards the inside of his left thigh. The small movements were drawing blood to his groin though and Toshiro watched the greedy look cross Yukios face as he started to go hard right in front of the blonds’ very eyes.

‘That’s such a beautiful sight,’ the Californian voice drawled and Toshiro was almost glad the blond was staring at his stirring length than his own face which he was pretty sure was the colour of a slapped ass. He didn’t reply back to the blond as the finger now changed route and slowly and delicately ran up his semi hard member. Toshiro closed his eyes against the feeling, feeling it twitch eagerly at the blonds touch and only opened his eyes when he felt the couch stir. Yukio was lowering himself down in between Toshiros legs and the boy was suddenly feeling very self conscious and a lot more exposed, where the fuck was his head going? Was he looking for treasure or something? Soon a pair of lips had attached themselves onto the inside of his right thigh and Toshiro let a small noise slip his lips. It was a cross between a gasp and a moan and he felt the lips suck a deep bruise onto the spot.

Then the lips were kissing up and over his thigh, stopping to suck and nip on the delicate flesh that connected his thigh to his lower abdomen. Toshiro bit his lower lip in a bid to stop himself making any noises though his body twitched a little as the blond began to kiss close to where his length was now laying against his stomach and fully erect. Yukio was torturing him, this was torture. Those lips kissed and grazed up his stomach and _around_ his erect member before kissing back down the other side. He stopped to suck another harsh spot somewhere in that general area as Toshiro let a small whimper escape his lips. He could feel Yukios smile against his skin, clearly proud of whatever work he was carrying out down there while Toshiro just wished _desperately_ to be touched. Yukio had contented himself by kissing back down the inside of his left thigh now, his hands had circled over Toshiros thighs and were gently grasping them.

‘ _Nnggg_ ,’ Toshiro gasped when he saw the blond move away and felt him gently trace the tip of his noise up his twitching member. He then began to gently nip his way back down his length earning small gasps as those teeth grazed the sensitive flesh and plump lips caressed the areas with small tender kisses as he worked his way slowly down and back up the length. He placed a chaste kiss at the very tip and pulled away to sit back up earning a noise of frustration from the prodigy.

‘God I want to remember this moment forever,’ he sighed as he gazed down at Toshiro. The prodigy tried not to scowl at the moment of sentiment as the blond took in the sight of him fully erect, legs spread invitingly and his glasses perched on the end of his nose as he gazed down at Yukio. As he sat there staring his hands had started to move, long fingers massaged the inside of his thighs gently and slowly worked their way up and over stomach. Toshiro closed his eyes and let his head slump back against the feeling. Those fingers seemed to be teasingly leaving his length alone as he carried out his work and when the blond spoke again it was clear he was smiling. ‘You’re not that small.’

‘I’m smaller than you,’ he grunted back.

‘By like an inch, chill out, stop being so self conscious I think you’re gorgeous.’ He crawled across Toshiro so that his stag necklace was brushing against Toshiros chest and soon his lips were hovering back over Toshiros own. Like a hungry child Toshiro reached up to capture them, wanting to desperately move things along a little. His lower half was in dire need of attention and he wanted to get to the actual act of having sex. The heat emitting from Yukios bare chest was toxic and Toshiro could feel it infiltrate his own skin, warming him up despite the zero bodily contact. Soon Yukio was pulling away, that smirk back on his face as he ran his thumb across Toshiros lips once again.

‘Sit up, I want to see this ass of yours,’ he muttered and he leaned into the side of the couch allowing Toshiro room to get up. Toshiro blinked and fixed his glasses once again after the kiss as he pushed himself into a sitting position. ‘Get on your knees,’ Yukio instructed and Toshiro was a little confused but did as he was told. He brought his legs around and sat on his knees looking over his shoulder at Yukio who was still watching him. The blond allowed his body to slip down so he was lying flat on the couch and to avoid being removed, Toshiro straddled him, with one leg over his chest and facing away from him. The blond sat up eagerly and Toshiro soon felt himself being pushed forward so that his arms were on either side of Yukios legs as he glanced back at the blond. Yukio was now cupping and massaging his ass cheeks roughly, running a thumb down the crease and over his entrance that twitched at the attention.

‘This, has got to be the tightest, most toned ass I’ve ever seen. It’s not even remotely flat.’ On the last work Yukio gave a rather harsh spank to his right cheek which earned a gasp from the prodigy as he closed his eyes. His glasses slipped down his face as Yukio went about abusing his backside quite extensively. Lips had began to kiss every inch of his right cheek, pausing only to suck harshly on the flesh and Toshiro knew he was leaving plenty of marks before moving onto his other cheek. Toshiro was only vaguely aware of the blonds own obvious erection hidden in his jeans. Toshiro desperately wanted to reach between them and unbutton his jeans and pull them down so he could see the blonds beautifully erect member but his arms were now shaking with his own lustful haze as the blond continued his assault on his ass. Then Toshiro felt two strong hands on his hips pulling him back. As the blond lay flat against the couch he pulled Toshiro on top of him and the prodigy yelped in embarrassment as he tried to get away but the hands were too strong keeping him in place. The heat in his cheeks was radiating and he felt exposed as he practically _sat_ on the blonds face. A lot of this was forgotten the moment a tongue began to gently press against his entrance. Toshiros head flew back at the feeling, he’d never had anyone ever do this to him before and he was torn between enjoying it and feeling incredibly self conscious. He closed his eyes and tried to relax against the feeling as that wet appendage wormed its way inside him. Yukio clearly got the sense that maybe he wasn’t enjoying it as much as he should and soon the tongue was removed and Yukio slid down a little lower, lifting Toshiros hips a little as he gently took one of Toshiros testis into his mouth. That earned a moan of approval, and the noise tore from Toshiros lips before he could stop it.

Encouraged by the noise the prodigy just made, Yukio gently lapped at it with his tongue while it was engulfed in the warm wet cavern. When he was done abusing one he moved onto the other but by that point Toshiro was slumped forward, his head resting somewhere between the blonds thighs.

‘ _Y-Yukio_ ,’ he gasped into the boys legs as he sucked lightly on his other testicle the blond paused for a moment when Toshiro said his name and the prodigy whimpered. ‘D-don’t stop,’ he mumbled and he heard the blond chuckle a little as his testicle was removed from the hot cavern. A gentle tongue tenderly traced around its circumference and Toshiro felt his eyelids droop lazily at the feeling. Then the blond was moving again, pushing Toshiro back up onto his knees as he slid his body up from under him.

‘Hearing my name come from your lips like that,’ Yukio drawled from behind him somewhere, ‘is really fucking sexy.’ Two strong arms were soon gripping him and he was flipped back over onto his back with his knees folded, the blond spread them wider than Toshiro would have liked but at this point the prodigy was too far gone to really care.

‘But,’ Yukio continued as he leaned down over Toshiro with a smirk on his face. ‘I’d rather hear you screaming it.’ He muttered as he brought his hand to his mouth and Toshiro watched him lick his own fingers rather seductively before reaching back down and pressing the first against Toshiros entrance. Toshiro let his mouth fall open at the feeling, his head falling back into the couch and his glasses slipping back up his nose as he did so. He knew where this was going, he knew that the blond was about to penetrate him. He could feel a nervous excitement in his stomach a feeling he welcomed as his hands attempted to grasp any section of the leather couch that he could. The blond slowly pushed forwards and Toshiro felt the finger inch its way inside. The intrusion was welcomed and something Toshiro had done many times when masturbating alone. The blond didn’t stop until it was in all the way up to his knuckle and leaned forward to kiss Toshiros left knee that was bent.

‘You okay?’ he asked and Toshiro nodded, he hadn’t realised that his mouth was still open and he quickly closed it.

‘Yes,’ he mumbled as the blond removed the finger and pushed back in, Toshiro felt his hips trying to rock with the movement of their own accord, trying his best to stop any needy whimpers from rolling across his lips. ‘You can add more fingers now.’

‘Alright calm down you sex lunatic,’ Yukio chuckled sarcastically and removed the finger before adding a second. He began to pup them in and out and Toshiro let a small moan part from his lips.

‘ _Nnnggg, Y-Yukio_ ,’ he was beyond impatient. Surely they’d been at these activities for hours now. Surely and Yukio still wasn’t fucking inside him yet.

‘Does that feel good babe?’ he cooed again, kissing his knee and Yukio clenched his jaw at the pet name. He wasn’t sure how he felt about it yet but he was hardly in a state to deeply comprehend its meaning right now.

‘ _Y-yes_ ,’ he gasped, as the fingers began to pick up the pace.

‘Tell me how good it feels.’ Yukio encouraged and Toshiro could almost hear his smugness.

‘It’d feel, a lot better,’ he mumbled, ‘if you added another finger.’

‘Sassy,’ he pulled out and soon three fingers were pressing against his entrance. This time the pain shot up Toshiros back but it was nothing new to him and he overcame it by looking down at the sight of the blond boy of his dreams’ hand driving in and out of him wildly as he pumped the three digits.

 _‘F-fuck_ ,’ he hissed at the sight, his cock bouncing against his stomach as Yukio began to curl the digits inside him. ‘ _Y-Yukio_!’ he knew exactly what the boy was searching for and Toshiros hands could not find an anchor quickly enough when those fingers thrust against his prostate. His nails racked across the leather couch, his head flew back and his back arched off the couch as a loud moan tore from his lips. ‘ _Nnnnngggh, f-fuck!’_

‘Found it,’ Yukio was practically laughing at this point and Toshiro glanced down at him through blurry eyes. How could he be so calm? Wasn’t he itching to get out of those jeans? How could he stand it? Toshiro didn’t get a chance to dwell on these thoughts too much as the blond began to roughly abuse the newly found spot deep inside him. Toshiro was soon reduced to a mewling moaning mess. His toes curled, his back arched and his hair was sticking to his forehead from the sweat of their activities. The blonds’ uneven and slow rhythm interjected with sporadic moments of fast paced pumping was causing Toshiro to lose all control. Soon Toshiro couldn’t even open his mouth, couldn’t speak because of what was being done to him. Instead he simply made noises at the back of his throat, aware his brain and tongue were now totally useless. God did he want the blond to touch him, he needed to be touched so badly. Apart from a few nips and gentle kisses the blond had not once touched his cock and it was leaking on his stomach, bouncing with every harsh thrust against his prostate and begging for attention.

He couldn’t really speak to try and tell the blond what he wanted because he was now reduced to a sweaty mass on the couch so instead he reached down with one shaky hand and tried to guide Yukios free hand towards him by clutching it and pulling. Yukio looked a little amused and yanked his hand back when he saw what Toshiro was aiming to do.

‘Oh no you don’t,’ he smirked. ‘Look at the state of you,’ he laughed and Toshiro groaned as he tried to glance down at his aching length. ‘You’re going to pop the moment I push inside you I know it.’ Toshiro felt the three fingers being removed and he whimpered at the loss, his entrance clamping around nothing. ‘I’ll be right back,’ the blond slipped off the couch and walked away and Toshiro followed him with his eyes before glancing back down. His penis was engorged much larger than normal when he was simply touching himself, it was a vivid dark red as all the blood in his body seemed to be pouring down to it. He gulped knowing full well the boy was right and slumped his head back onto the leather. He groaned losing his patience then heard the blond making his way back into the room and walking around his couch stopping to stare at the sight for a while.

‘I’ll never get over this sight,’ he mumbled and Toshiro huffed. He was now very impatient and he reached down with his own hand to grasp himself. He let an audible gasp escape his lips but Yukio was on him before he could start pumping, removing the hand away. ‘Don’t you dare finish off all my hard work,’ he laughed as he put something on the stone fireplace; a bottle of lube. ‘Besides like I said, you’ll pop the moment I start pushing inside you.’ He slowly reached down to pop the button on his own jeans and undone the zip. Toshiros mouth had gone dry, it was about damn time. He wanted to see the boy, fully erect and ready to bang him. He made a slow, teasing show of pulling his trousers down and through the silk fabric of the expensive looking boxers Toshiro could see his hard length tucked up towards the right side of his stomach. Soon the blond began to push these down and inch by inch he was revealed to the eagerly awaiting teal eyes.

Yukio had been right, he was about an inch bigger than himself but a bit thicker too and he took his damn time removing his clothing before casting it out onto the floor somewhere. He crawled over Toshiro and lowered his hard member so that it was pressed flush against his own earning a small moan of need from his lips. That moan was soon swallowed into Yukios mouth as he crushed their lips together and the kiss was much more passionate and needy than ever before. Yukio was clearly beginning to lose his incredibly gifted self control as their teeth crashed together in the kiss, he continued to grind his pelvis into Toshiros and soon the prodigy had to break away to let another throaty moan escape.

The blond turned to the side and grabbed the lube, Toshiro could feel movements but his eyes were now closed, glasses askew on his face which he couldn’t correct. He couldn’t correct because his hands were busy grasping onto an edge of the couch somewhere as he tugged and scratched at it to take his mind off the fact he was sitting on a peak and could fall at any minute. Then two strong arms were wrapping themselves around his thighs and hoisting them up.

‘I want you to watch,’ the blonds breathing had increased and as Toshiro finally opened his eyes he glanced down to see Yukios determined face. His jaw was set and any traces of his usual humour seemed to be gone, his eye was dark with lust and his chest was rising and falling heavily. ‘I want you to watch as I push inside of you,’ he was certainly holding Toshiro in a position that would make it visible to the Prodigy who whimpered at these words. He glanced down to see the slightly larger males well lubed member rubbing against his entrance. A small groan escaped his lips at the sight and as soon as his eyes were locked onto it Yukio began to push inside. His initial reaction was to throw back his head and moan loudly but Yukio called his attention back and stopped pushing until he was watching again. With much difficultly Toshiro glanced back down and watched the sight of the blond boy slowly pushing into him. The feeling was overwhelming, he was much bigger than three fingers and though there was some pain there it was knocked away the moment the head of his penis pushed against his prostate. It all happened so fast, he’d been ready to pop at any moment.

‘ _Nnnnggghhh_!’ he moaned loudly, unable to form words, as the sight and feeling sent a wave of pleasure shooting up his spine. His eyes closed, his back arched and he felt himself release, coming hard up his own stomach and chest. His muscles contorted and he was sure he heard Yukio swear. When he started to come back down from the high he was panting heavily, his vision was blurry and he was aware his own release was covering his chest and stomach.

‘Fuck,’ Yukio groaned and Toshiro noticed the boy was gritting his teeth. ‘That was so fucking hot to watch,’ his eyes travelled from Toshiros face down to his now softening length and back up to his face again.

‘T-that,’ Toshiro whimpered realising his mouth was barely functioning, ‘took… too… long,’ he grumbled and Yukio chuckled mercilessly at him.

‘Hey, your complaint about your ex is that he came too fast remember?’ he chuckled and bent down kissing at Toshiros neck as if trying to make it up to him. Toshiros chest was still rising and falling far too quickly. ‘Besides look,’ he glanced down between them and Toshiro looked down, his cheeks heating up instantly. ‘I’m now fully inside you, it was a good distraction.’ He smirked but Toshiro could see some of that self control of his crumbling.

‘How… do I feel?’ Toshiro panted, wanting to see if he could force the blond to give him a couple of dirty words as he lay there boneless and pretty much at his mercy.

‘Amazing,’ Yukios face scrunched up as he said it and he leaned back in to continue kissing at Toshiros neck which the prodigy tilted to the side for him. Yukio then began to move, slowly pulling himself out and then short thrusts back inside that had Toshiro hissing into the room. Yukio had mentioned he liked rough sex so Toshiro couldn’t understand why he was going so slow. Sometimes he’d wait a few seconds in between thrusts as if he were trying to keep Toshiro guessing, his thrusts were interjected with harsh sucks and bites to his neck and shoulders but Toshiro didn’t care all that much. Then two strong arms circled under his back and Toshiros eyes went wide as he was hoisted from the couch up into the blonds arms. Instantly he clung onto him, hoping he wouldn’t be dropped or fall. Yukio held him quite low so that as he walked around the couch they were still connected though the blond had come out of him a little bit.

‘W-where are we?’ Toshiro tried to ask as he glanced around.

‘Kitchen, I need a snack.’

‘Are you fucking serious?’

‘No I’m fucking you,’ he grinned down at Toshiro who scowled up at him. He was lowered down onto a lower counter of the kitchen bunker and he frowned.

‘Serious- ahhh!’ just as Toshiro had opened his mouth to speak the blond gave a harsh sharp thrust directly into him that had him closing his eyes and moaning.

‘Now look, you’ve got me covered.’ Yukio hummed and Toshiro opened his eyes to see some of his release from earlier now sticking to the blonds’ stomach. Toshiro opened his mouth to retort but the blond gave another sharp thrust back into him and his head rolled back onto the bunker with another moan. Heat was now pooling back down towards his groin and the blond pulled out just as his member was getting half hard. Seriously? What the fuck was wrong with this guy?

Toshiro groaned at the loss and watched as the blond walked around the kitchen, picking up a wash cloth and running it under the warm water before cleaning himself. Then he turned towards Toshiro and did the same thing. The feeling of the warm cloth against his skin was actually a little exotic, he’d never had anyone ever clean him before. He glanced up curiously into the blonds face and he looked pretty pleased with himself. He took the cloth away and dumped it into the sink, it was then that Toshiro realised where he was lying.

‘Don’t people eat off here?’ he practically scowled, his Monica Geller hygiene persona kicking in.

‘Just me,’ Yukio smiled as he opened the oversized American double fridge and stuck his head inside it.

‘I should get down,’ Toshiro tried to worm his way to the edge of the bunker when Yukio closed the fridge sharply and glared at him.

‘Don’t you dare,’ he quickly made his way back over and Toshiro frowned.

‘You have to eat off here and I’m covered in sweat.’

‘I’ve literally had my tongue inside you,’ Yukio spoke a hint of amusement in his voice. ‘And you think I’m bothered about the fact you’re sweating on it a little?’

Toshiro didn’t really have a reply to that but he did feel his face heat up at the memory of what had happened around an hour or so ago. He brought a shaky hand up to fix his glasses on his face and felt the blond pushing him back down onto the bunker, his face incredibly close once again. Toshiro naturally closed his eyes at the proximity and eagerly leaned forward to capture the boys’ lips which were met with a greedy groan from the blond. Toshiro felt the heat return to his groin, it had been the first time Yukio had made a sexual noise and it just sent shivers up and down him. He’d been waiting so long to hear the blond, to see him, to feel him and it was all happening. The kiss was sloppy and when Yukio pulled away Toshiro had to fix his glasses again when he heard something. An unusual noise of a canister sounded and something cold and damp caused him to jump. He glanced down to see Yukio spraying a trail of whipped cream up his cock and he practically choked on air.

He didn’t even have anytime to say anything about it before the blond had started lapping it off himself. The contrast of the cold whipped cream compared to Yukios hot warm mouth was something quite incredible and Toshiro felt his own mouth part slightly at the feeling. He’d rose back up onto his elbows when he’d captured Yukios lips and he stared down at the blonds work just now with hungry eyes. Yukio had the can in one hand and would suck and lick the cream off before applying more. He never once took Toshiros length into his mouth but once he was done abusing the sides he sat back and put a decent sized splodge clumsily on the head of his cock before setting the can down. The blond licked the cream off his fingers then bored down taking the entire head into his mouth.

‘ _Nnnnh, Y-Yukio fuck!_ ’ Toshiro fell back against the bunker, his elbows giving out from under him as the hot cavern enclosed him, sealing the cold cream all around his cock and into its slit. The blond was soon swallowing the cream down and swallowing around Toshiro at the same time, his tongue swirling around to capture any of the white fluffy substance he may have missed. His tongue slipped gently into the slit and Toshiro arched off the bunker practically forcing more of himself into Yukios mouth. The blond pinned his hips, his tongue eagerly searching out the last traces of cream and took a few moments to scrape his teeth against Toshiro as he bobbed up and down.

When he pulled away Toshiro groaned at the loss, he was left panting and gasping at air as he glanced down between them. He was one again so close to coming and yet the blond had still not done anything about himself. Yukio lifted the can and did the same thing, putting more of the cold white substance onto the head. The contrast was unreal and the cold cream against his skin earned an involuntary hiss from the prodigy. It didn’t last long before he was being engulfed again and he could feel the pressure building in him once more. To add to the pleasure Yukio pushed three fingers back inside him, curling them once again and it took him no time at all before he found that sweet spot of his that had his back arching off of the bunker once again.

‘ _Fuccccckkkkk_ ,’ he hissed, all decorum gone now as he began to sweat all over the bunker once more. _‘Y-Yukio I-can’t_ ,’ he gasped, ‘ _’m gonna…_ ’ he barely had a chance to finish when he felt the pinnacle of his pleasure being reached. His muscles convulsed once again, waves of pleasure shooting up and down his body as it arched off the bunker and he felt himself releasing into the swallowing mouth of the blond who eagerly drunk it down. He continued swallowing around Toshiros member long after the smaller male had gone limp on the bunker, his limbs practically shaking to the point it felt almost uncomfortable when he finally released Toshiro.

‘Hmmm,’ the blond removed his fingers and Toshiro winced a little at the loss. That skilled tongue of the blond was lapping at his mouth capturing traces of cream that had escaped around the edges. ‘Okay, so I’ve concluded that cum doesn’t taste that good with cream, I think something sweeter might be better.’ His head was turned back towards his cupboard as if he was trying to figure something out and Toshiro hissed. It was good to find that his mouth still worked.

‘I-if you’re… planning on c-covering me with… peanut butter or something…’ he panted but managed to heave himself to shaking elbows to glare down at the blond. ‘I’m leaving.’ Yukio was watching him with a very amused expression before he threw back his head and laughed.

‘Alright, no peanut butter, can we at least discuss Nutella?’

‘Another day,’ Toshiro mumbled slumping back down onto the bunker. He was beyond spent and yet… and yet Yukio hadn’t had a single orgasm. He’d had two! ‘Give me a moment… then I can…’

‘Then you can what?’

‘Return the favour.’

‘Oh no you don’t,’ he chuckled and Toshiro looked back down at him confused. ‘We ain’t done yet sunshine,’ Yukio had crawled over him and was grinning into the side of his face. ‘I want to give you my apartment tour, you’ve seen the living room and the kitchen.’ Toshiro scowled at him, weren’t they having sex? At least they had been at one point.

‘Aren’t we… aren’t you going too?’ Toshiro looked back down at the blond, he was still very much hard and the sight caused Toshiro to gulp thickly. He really wanted the blond back inside him, he wanted the blond to fuck him until he came inside him.

‘I’m going to give you the apartment tour in orgasms,’ he chuckled and soon Toshiro felt his arms encircle him again and he blushed furiously as he was pulled into his arms.

‘You can’t be serious?’ he scowled as they made their way towards the hallway.

‘Well minus a couple of places, such as the main bathroom is under construction and since I don’t want anything penetrating you but me we’d best avoid all the nails and bits of wood in there.’ He was grinning as he made his way towards a room door. ‘Also I don’t think hallways count, it’s also a bit too cold just now to do it outside so those places can be missed.’ He kicked the door open, pausing to hoist Toshiro further up with only one arm supporting him like he weighed nothing as the other quickly switched the light on before helping to support him again. Toshiro instantly felt a temperature difference with this room and he glance around to see that it was very obviously a studio.

Toshiro was lowered down onto a desk as he continued to look around him eagerly. The walls were bare and the floor was laminate, all of it was adding to the lower temperature of the room. Toshiro didn’t mind, he liked the cold but the blond shivered a little and Toshiro tore his eyes away from a large green screen wall and expensive looking lighting equipment to gaze up at the blond. He instantly rubbed his hands up the blonds’ arms and the blond leaned into the feeling, nuzzling into Toshiros neck. Despite them having done all the things they had been doing up until this point, he was sure this was the most intimate they’d actually been.

‘You know,’ Toshiro started a faint smile in his voice, ‘you’d warm back up again if you started fucking me.’ Toshiro had brought his legs up to the desk and was spreading them as he spoke, he felt the blond take in a sharp breath before turning around and eagerly searching out Toshiros lips as the smaller male continued to try and rub some warmth into the larger male. His lips were met eagerly with Toshiros own and they shared a kiss that heated both of them. What started as a simple opening and closing of the mouths soon turned into a full blown fight between two wet muscles as Yukio happily pinned Toshiros tongue down and sucked the life out of it, leaving Toshiro to moan into the kiss. As this was happening Yukios arms came down to grasp at Toshiros hips and very soon the blood was shoving all the way back inside him in one go. Toshiro broke away from the kiss to gasp as pleasure and pain shot up and down him. Not having had the blond inside him for a while meant he could feel every inch of that glorious appendage push its way back inside his body.

‘Y-Yukio,’ he groaned grasping at the blonds strong shoulders as he shook a little in his arms. Yukio went straight for his neck, nipping at the flesh and stopping to suck a large portion of it into his mouth as he did so.

Soon the blond had set about a steady rhythm, long and slow thrusts soon had Toshiro gasping and mewling on the desk as his bodies sweat ravaged this new surface area of polished wood. As the prodigy fell into rhythm with the youtuber, he was lifting his own hips to meet every single thrust of his partners, rolling his body for maximum effect that soon had even the blond coming undone. Pants began to echo around the room and at one point Yukio actually turned and moaned loudly into Toshiros ear. The sound was so blissfully beautiful that heat started pumping back down to his groin and he felt his mouth go dry. The moan wasn’t what he had envisioned the blond to sound like during sex at all, he was sure the sound would be a little higher pitched given the Californian accent was a lot chirpier than their Scottish accents, however it wasn’t. It was low, rugged and almost animalistic and Toshiro realised that it sounded way better than anything he could ever have dreamed up. 

While they were busy fucking, Toshiro glanced over the blonds’ shoulder and spotted a large tripod set up complete with a luxurious and expensive looking Canon camera. Toshiro instantly halted his movements as he blinked at it, it was pointed directly at them and he swallowed thickly. Sensing his partner had become a little distracted Yukio turned to follow his gaze.

‘It’s not on.’

‘O-okay.’

‘It could be if you want it though?’

Toshiro almost hit him as the cheeky blond grinned at him, his dishevelled blond spikes even more dishevelled than usual and Toshiro realised it was because one of his own hands had crept up to entangle into his hair. He gulped and slackened his hold on the silky locks, marvelling at how they felt under his fingers. Yukio pulled his hips down so he slipped back down against the desk and gave another sharp thrust in at the same time.

‘ _Nnnnnghhh- fuck_!’ Toshiro moaned loudly, the sound reverberating around the studio room. 

‘I’d love to record this,’ the blond panted pulling out slightly so he could reach down with his mouth and abuse Toshiros left nipple by sucking on it harshly. The prodigy was in the middle of fixing his glasses for the umpteenth time when he gave another harsh groan at the feeling.

‘M-maybe another time,’ he panted back and Yukio stopped to glance up at him, his eyes sparkling with mischief.

‘Really?’

Toshiro realised he’d never ever be able to deny the beautiful blond anything ever, because that face was too heart warming to pass up.

‘I-I said maybe,’ Toshiro narrowed his eyes and Yukio smirked.

‘Would I have to do something for you in return?’ Yukio asked as he slowly made his way back up the smaller males body while sliding further back inside him. Toshiros mouth fell open at the feeling, the slow incredible feeling of being filled.

‘M-maybe,’ he panted, surprised his voice still worked.

‘Like make you orgasm four times in a row?’ Yukio was nuzzling into his neck and gave a shallow thrust back in with his hips that had Toshiros eyes rolling back into his sockets and his toes curling in response. At this point he wasn’t even sure his body could keep up with sperm demand and he was sure if he were to orgasm again there would not be a single thing to come out.

Toshiro wasn’t even sure if his jaw would work to reply now when he jumped at a loud sound of a drill. Yukio laughed as Toshiro practically leapt into his arms, his heart was hammering in his throat and all he could think about was; HOUSE OF SHADOWS!

Turns out it was a mobile phone vibrating on the harsh wood of the desk and the sound being magnified by the echo-y room. Yukio kept Toshiro firmly in place with one arm wrapped around him and reached over with his other. Toshiro glared at him, if he was going to answer that- click.

‘Hello?’

Unbelievable. They were in the middle of something. Toshiro pushed his glasses back up his face while glaring indignantly at the blond.

‘Hey Tyler! Nah I’m up, what you doing?’

What the fuck was wrong with this dick? Seriously? They had other things they were doing. Yukio was clearly very amused by the abashed look on Toshiros face and kissed his nose tenderly as he listened to whatever Tyler was saying down the phone.

‘Nothing much, just having sex.’ There was a beats silence and Toshiro could hear the other older male laughing down the phone. ‘Seriously,’ Yukio confirmed with another kiss to Toshiros nose as he pulled out and pushed back in. ‘Hang on I’ll put you on loud speaker-‘

‘Don’t you fucking dare!’ Toshiro hissed at him but too late he’d already pressed the button and now Toshiro couldn’t say anything or Tyler would know it was him and not Ichigo.

‘Is this the boy you’ve been talking so much about on your channel?’ Tyler was asking with an amused tone, something rustled and Toshiro was sure he was eating something. Great, what the fuck? Yukio pushed him back down against the wood and pulled back out and thrust all the way back in. The sound of flesh slapping on flesh sounded around the room and Toshiro threw his head back in a soundless moan.

‘Yes it is,’ Yukio tried to keep the pant out of his breath as he went about a new rhythm and Toshiro wanted to just fucking die of embarrassment. His hands reached for the phone, he’d hang up himself but the blond was over him in a matter of seconds and pinned his hands down on the desk above his head. Toshiro glared at him.

‘Okay I call Toshiro,’ Tyler laughed down the line.

‘What m-makes you say that?’ Yukio asked, he’d now climbed up onto the desk to keep his grip on Toshiros hands as the smaller boy tried to squirm free.

‘Because of the way you’ve been speaking about him to me recently,’ Tyler was definitely munching something as he spoke and his words drew Toshiros curiosity. So Yukio had been speaking to Tyler Oakley about him? He grinned a little but that grin was wiped from his face the moment the blond started to set about a new steady rhythm for them. Toshiro tried to hold back his grunts and groans but the more the blond thrust the harder it became. Soon the blond was barely able to reply to his friend at all.

‘If y-you stay on t-the l-line long enough,’ he panted practically between each thrusts, ‘y-you’ll maybe find o-out,’ he grunted the last word and Toshiro could see now that the blond was close. Yukios hair had begun to stick to his forehead with sweat and Toshiros toes were curling as the force of the rather rough sex caused the desk below them to grunt and groan against the laminate flooring.

‘Jesus and here I was thinking you may have been joking but you’re actually fucking him aren’t you?’ Tyler laughed and Toshiro felt a whine leave his mouth. It was clear neither Yukio nor Tyler were going to be hanging up and even though the prodigy bit his lip in a bid to keep quiet he knew it would only be a matter of time. Once Toshiro had been put into a state of incapacitation Yukio let go of his hands long enough to hoist his hips up and moulded him in a way that allowed the blond boy to slam directly into his prostate with each thrust. Toshiro choked out a loud moan and closed his eyes, his entire body going boneless as Tyler chuckled.

‘That didn’t sound like Ichigo to me,’ the boy drawled, ‘this sounds kinky can I video call you instead?’

‘D-d-d-d’ Toshiro gave up but he hoped the glare he sent the blond boy was enough.

‘Don’t t-think h-he’d appreciate that,’ Yukio panted back his cheeks flushed a beautiful rose colour that contrasted beautifully with his deep emerald eye and golden blond hair.

Toshiro couldn’t keep quiet any longer, with every single thrust against his prostate he was coming undone and Tyler Oakley, the legendary youtuber was hearing every second of it.

‘That’s definitely not Ichigo,’ Tyler was beyond smug now as he happily munched away on whatever he was eating.

Neither boy could speak now they were both far too close and Toshiro could only moan loudly to let Yukio know that he was nearly there, god was he nearly there. Pushing Tyler to the back of his mind he felt Yukio reach between his legs and wrap his hand around his painfully neglected member giving it a few harsh tugs and-

‘ _Y-Yukio_!’ he moaned loudly into the room, his hips rolling up to meet the blonds thrust as his whole body froze. His muscles clamping hard and painfully around the blond, sucking him in deeper as Yukio gave another animalistic groan and Toshiro felt him explode inside him. Hot thick liquid was oozing from his ass as Yukio pulled out and Toshiro realised even though he’d had an orgasm himself nothing but a couple of droplets had come out.

‘Bravo,’ Tyler was offering them a round of applause from down the phone. ‘That sounded really hot.’ He paused for a few moments and Toshiro could feel the embarrassment catch up with him as he waited for a beats silence. ‘Hi Toshiro,’ Tyler called softly down the phone and Toshiros whole face went red in a matter of seconds.

‘He’s blushing so badly right now,’ Yukio chuckled, ‘and it’s adorable.’

‘You’re both fucking hot I can only imagine what you look like during sex,’ Tyler laughed, ‘anyway I should have hung up ages ago I was just curious and now I’ve confirmed my claims I can go and locate my bottle of lube happily now.’

‘Alright man,’ Yukio laughed, ‘catch you later.’

‘Bye,’ he called and then hung up and Toshiro wanted to hit the blond. He wanted to hit him and yet couldn’t move a muscle it was a horrible predicament to be in. Before Toshiro could open his mouth to retort however he was being hoisted back up into the blonds’ arms and scowled at the feeling of the blonds come leaking from his ass. It was not a pleasant feeling.

They went to investigate Yukios large walk in wardrobe where Toshiro was placed down on a large plush carpet, trying not to panic about carpet burns. He adjusted his glasses once again and watched as Yukio stood up and wandered around one of the corners and out of view.

‘What’s your favourite colour?’ Yukio asked and Toshiro huffed on the floor.

‘I’m not talking to you,’ he called back.

‘Is that because of that phone call?’

‘Why do you have another phone anyway?’ Toshiro scowled, remembering now that the model he’d seen in the studio was different to the usual one the blond carried.

‘Work phone,’ he said as he came back around the corner and dropped to the carpet to crawl over him. Toshiro glared up at him and felt the blond tug his hands together and bind them with something. He glanced up and spotted a lavish and expensive looking teal tie. ‘It matched your eyes,’ he muttered as he nuzzled into Toshiros neck. Those nuzzles soon turned into kisses and light sucks against his neck. They lay for a long time just kissing, Yukio exploring Toshiros neck, collarbone and chest with his tongue and soon Yukio was ready for another round. He slipped easily back inside Toshiro as they lay on the lavish plush carpet of the floor, his sperm from before making excellent lube. Toshiro was beyond exhausted, beyond spent and he hoped that Yukios idea of an orgasm in every room was a joke. Though he was appreciating the total care and dedication that Yukio placed into this, it was very clear the blond was not as lazy as Toshiro had perhaps pegged him to be. He was very clearly a hard worker if his continued pounding against Toshiros prostate was anything to go by.

Clearly Yukio must have realised how difficult it would be for the two of them to actually orgasm in every room and soon he’d hoisted Toshiro back up into his arms and carried him off towards one of the spare bedrooms. Toshiro was glad, the pounding on the floor was resulting in a minor carpet rash on his back.

‘The other two don’t have furniture yet,’ he groaned into Toshiros neck, ‘so no point in showing you them.’ Toshiro was thankful but he could also tell it was clearly because the blond was a little exhausted too. When they worked into a steady rhythm of fucking on the guest bed it took a long time for Toshiro to get hard again and even then it felt like his body was too tired to do it properly. Yukio was hard though and despite his lack of full on erection, Toshiro could still appreciate the feeling of the blond thrusting deeply inside him. Yukio was bending him in ways he didn’t even know he could he bent and flipped him onto his stomach to fuck him on all fours too at one point.

When Yukio pulled out to flip him back around Toshiros glasses were skewed over his face and he didn’t bother correcting them, arching his back off the bed as the blond shoved all the way back inside him in one go. Toshiro took a moment to marvel at the beautiful noises being elected from his partners lips as he climbed closer to that peak once again. Clearly the blond seemed determined to try and draw the pleasure out as much as he could but as he reached down between them to tug once again on Toshiros cock he realised too soon that the pleasure had been drawn to it’s maximum point.

Toshiro came undone for a fourth time that night but with nothing to release the feeling was almost painful or would have been if it were not still for the delightful feeling of his muscles contracting followed by a beautiful moan from the blond as he tried to pull out in time to stop his own orgasm. The nights events would not allow him speed however and he pulled just as he hit that critical point releasing over Toshiros ass and his own groin instead of inside him.

‘C-crap,’ he chocked falling back on his ass on the bed as he panted. ‘S-sorry, I tried to pull out in time.’

‘Don’t worry about it,’ Toshiro panted. He could fall asleep then and there he was so goddamn spent. ‘I-can’t again… I can’t,’ he mumbled and Yukio seemed to nod in agreement. They’d been at it for a couple of hours by this point and Toshiro was sure none of his limbs would be working.

‘Me either,’ the Californian boy chuckled, ‘even though I’d love too, I could happily just be inside you all day everyday,’ he mumbled and Toshiro would have flushed if he was not so damn tired.

Yukio slipped off the bed and exited the room without a word and Toshiro was left watching the door. Waves of exhaustion were crashing over him, he felt giddy with his own tiredness and his muscles were twitching. He was covered in sweat and Yukios release and he wanted nothing more than to wash and sleep for an eternity.

Soon Yukio padded back into the room, he looked just as exhausted as Toshiro felt but he grinned broadly down at him and held his arms out.

‘C’mon handsome,’ he mumbled and Toshiro swallowed and allowed himself to be hoisted into his arms once more. The mess of his privates was begging to get cleaned and he just hoped wherever they were going now had a towel of some sorts. Yukio lead them to his room which was cast in a semi dark glow, meaning that Toshiro couldn’t see the room properly. Yukio stopped to carefully pinch the glasses from Toshiros nose and place them down on the side table. Toshiro had to marvel at the fact the boy could still keep him securely in his grip with one arm despite the fact it could quite easily be 4am and after all they’d done. Then Yukio was leading him to another room and Toshiro heard the sound of running water.

As he brought him into the bathroom Toshiro sighed contently at the steamy hot air that circled his tired body. The large walk in bathroom had a ceiling shower and soon Yukio had walked the two of them right into the middle of it, stopping to catch Toshiros lips in the middle of the downfall.

Toshiro kissed him back as eagerly as he could manage despite his lethargic state and felt the blond lower him down. His legs were shaky and they barely worked but the blond was helping him to support his weight as he stood for a moment then he moved away.

The only person other than his parents to ever clean him was Rangiku when he was very ill. He’d normally let her wash his back and arms and neck and legs when he was ill but he was too shy to let anyone else do it. Now he was too exhausted to stop the blond. Yukio had seen every single inch of his body anyway and explored nearly all of it with his tongue so Toshiro didn’t see the point in getting self conscious now as Yukio went about cleaning his own mess from the younger man. Toshiro practically groaned as the feeling of cleanliness washed over him. It was like heaven had come to some a long term sinner. As the small sponge was dragged across his groin and his ass Toshiro would have felt turned on but not now, every muscle was begging him for bed before another round. His balls were aching at their lack of sperm production time and he flinched at the thought of what he’d feel like in the morning. Or what he’d look like. He was sure that the blond had left bite marks littered all over his skin, from his thighs to his ass to his chest to his neck and possibly even his arms.

‘There,’ Yukio chuckled, kissing his cheek as Toshiro stepped out of the flow to grab a towel and coax his limbs to work well enough to drag it loosely over himself and through his hair. He’d taken his best attempt at drying himself before his arms gave way and the towel slipped from his fingers as his brain fogged over, thinking of nothing but a warm bed and Yukio snuggled beside him. Soon a strong dry arm was wrapped around his waist and leading him to the bed back in the room. Toshiro didn’t need to be told twice as he slipped into it and felt the weight of the blond as he did the same. Yukio pulled him close and Toshiro snuggled against his chest as an arm wrapped around his waist.

‘Goodnight beautiful,’ Yukio mumbled into his ear, ‘I’ll see you in the morning.’ Toshiro wasn’t sure if he’d even have the strength to reply. His lids were heavy and his mind was already clouding over with sleep as he fought to stay awake long enough to at least offer the blond something.

‘Nigh,’ it was even a full word but it was all his brain could manage as sleep practically attacked him like a fat boy to a chocolate cake.


	13. Morning After

The first thing that Toshiro was aware of the next morning was the pain. Every single movement no matter how small felt like he was pressing hard against a tender bruise. He groaned as he rolled over trying to seek some kind of comfort from it. He was quite an athletic individual and so his limbs should not feel this sore, certainly the pain in his legs and ass were tolerable but his lower back and his abdomen were killing him.  Maybe he could try lying on his- op nope, no, no, no. That was worse. He groaned once again and turned back around to his side then he realised something. There was a distinct lack of another presence in the bed. His eyes flew open and he glanced around, his vision felt funny and his eyes were sore. He’d been wearing his glasses too long and for the wrong reason during last nights’ activities. He brought a hand up to rub at his eyes and glanced around once again. The room was cast into a golden light from the brown coloured curtains which filtered the sunlight in this fashion. Pale beige and cream coloured walls were bare of posters or pictures and the large king sized bed was void of any youtuber. Toshiro pushed himself up and practically moaned, the pain was uncomfortable but the fact he knew where it steamed from just made it entirely worth it. He saw his reflection in a wall mirror opposite the bed and turned towards the bathroom, the door was closed but there was no sounds coming from inside.

With a frown Toshiro ran a hand across the bed beside him, it was cold which meant that Yukio hadn’t just recently left. He tried not to panic as he looked across at Yukios bedside table and saw a clock with the time reading 13:21pm. Toshiro practically flipped out, he scampered from the bed his limbs aching at the sudden movement and looked around for his clothing. It was too late to have slept in this long. True it must have easily been about 4 or 5 in the morning by the time they got to sleep but Toshiro had never slept beyond 9am not even on weekends.

His search for clothes became fruitless as he realised that they’d been discarded in the living room. He could always go and seek the blond out naked? Instantly his face heated up, even after last nights activities he wasn’t quite ready to walk around totally naked yet. That’s when he spotted a t shirt laying on the end of the bed and he looked at it curiously. It was a black t-shirt and had some band on the front of it, it was one he’d never seen the blond wear in any of his videos before so Toshiro wasn’t sure if it was meant for him or not. Still he’d feel better exploring with something covering his body. He picked the shirt up and slipped it on stepping over to the mirror to examine his appearance. He flinched; literally every section of him was covered in purple love bites. He lifted the top back up and noticed that they were all over his lower abdomen, the inside of his thighs, a couple up his chest and all over his neck, there were even some on his shoulders and arms. He didn’t even want to think about the state of his ass as he lowered the shirt back down over himself and practically limped to the door. How the hell was he meant to hide all of these from the world? He’d have to wear a scarf and long sleeved clothing for the next few weeks and even then he knew Rangiku would see them. That thought made him want to crawl back to the bed and curl up and never leave. Before his body could permit this however he found himself heading for the door which he opened quietly and listened out into the hallway. He could hear Yukios voice drifting from the living room and though he couldn’t hear what was being said it sounded like he was obviously speaking to someone. Perhaps Ichigo had called him? That seemed reasonable but still Toshiro was careful as he slipped out. The t shirt didn’t do a great deal for his modesty, it hung to the very bottom of his ass but if he even so much as bent over a little, he knew his ass would be on show. If anyone else was over he didn’t particularly want to be seen in this state, so he proceeded with caution.

Wherever Yukio was he wasn’t on the couch as Toshiro could see the couch directly from the hall, or at least the back of it. Toshiro stepped to the side and glanced towards the kitchen area, it was difficult to see but it didn’t look like the boy was in there too. Very carefully Toshiro glanced around the corner and that’s when he caught sight of the boy, he was sitting in front of his laptop facing the kitchen and the door while talking directly into a webcam. Toshiro smiled as he pulled back, if he strained his ears he could hear him.

‘So that’s why I didn’t get a video done yesterday so I hope you guys are okay with this live question and answer section instead.’ He chuckled and there was a moments silence while he did something, likely reading comments or adjusting his camera. ‘Yes, I did make headway with the guy last night,’ there was no mistaking the grin in his voice. ‘A lot of headway actually I think he’s still sleeping naked in my bed right now.’

Toshiro nearly groaned and felt the heat rising in his cheeks, had he really just said that to the Yukies? It raised an interesting topic that Toshiro hadn’t thought about lately… well he’d been too distracted to think about. If he and Yukio were to become a ‘thing’ which it seemed likely they were. Would he have to share the limelight with him? Would he be okay doing that? Toshiro gulped, he remembered all the times they had to hide Yukio and smuggle him away because of fan girls. How sometimes he’d look exhausted and people would still approach him and ask him for ‘selfies’.

Toshiro wasn’t sure and he fidgeted with the top in his hands as he tried to contemplate the possibility. It would mean getting to be with Yukio though. What if some of the Yukies didn’t like him? What if they wanted it to be Ichigo? Toshiro wasn’t as entertaining as he was, wasn’t as much fun or as quirky so what if he was a disappointment? He shook his head this was a conversation he’d have to have with the blond if the blond even wanted to start dating. He was hopeful, he hoped this was a lot more than just a one night stand.

‘I’m not going to be answering that question Captain… how the hell do I pronounce that?’ he laughed, ‘I can’t even say your username, but no I will not be telling you exactly how we had sex. I won’t be telling you a thing except that it was amazing, _he’s_ amazing and I really like him.’ Toshiro grinned to himself when those words left the blonds mouth and he straightened up. There would be a time to worry about everything else but he may as well just enjoy today. His eyes glanced over to the kitchen and he was suddenly aware of how thirsty he was. He could go and get himself a glass of water at least? The camera wasn’t facing him so no one would see him. He stepped into the room and walked towards the kitchen. He could hear Yukio talking about something in the background but the boy had faltered in his speech when Toshiro came padding into the kitchen. He didn’t look at the blond and instead went about opening the cupboard he’d seen the boy get glasses from the night before.

‘S-sorry, I got… what were we? Oh! Questions right,’ Yukio was fumbling somewhere behind him and Toshiro couldn’t help but smirk a little as he stood on tip toes to get a glass out the cupboard. He pulled it down to examine it, it seemed clean enough. No doubt the wealthy male had a dishwasher. Toshiro rolled his eyes at the thought before taking it over to the kitchen sink to fill it up with cold water. As he did this he snuck a glance over at the blond boy who was clearly trying not to look over at Toshiro. He was topless, his stag necklace dangling down over his bulky chest. He wore a pair of light blue jeans and no socks as he tried to keep his eyes desperately on the screen in front of him.

‘Yes well anyway, I-yes he just got up,’ Yukio was caught between a scowl and a grin and it was an unusually adorable combination on his face as Toshiro watched him. ‘He’s over in the kitchen, I’m worried if I look at him someone will try to mathematically calculate his height from the basis of where my eyes are and then figure out exactly who it is.’ He huffed as he crossed his arms across his chest. It was hard to tell from this far away but Toshiro was sure he was blushing. ‘No,’ Yukio scowled at the screen, ‘he’s not distracting me, I’m not- just gimmie some questions.’ He asked his voice a little desperate and high as he quickly shook his head.

Toshiro brought the glass to his lips and drunk happily while he watched the blond, the water was warm and he scowled down at it. He hated warm water. He’d been running the cold tap, what he needed was ice. The fridge was pretty much directly in front of Yukios vision and Toshiro knew that these expensive fridges usually had small sections for ice cube trays stored at the bottom, which would mean he’d have to bend over, in this ridiculous attire. He could always go and put on his jeans and top from yesterday which were lying out in the middle of the floor somewhere but where would the fun in that be? He was standing trying to work up the courage to actually go to the fridge and bend over as he listened to the blond.

‘No I am not going to answer relationship questions,’ he laughed, ‘c’mon you guys I aint even had that discussion with him yet you think I’m gonna have it with you lot first?’ there was a cheeky teasing tone to his voice. Toshiro couldn’t help but smile. It was that teasing tone that had attracted him to his videos all those years ago, when he was really young and only just beginning to learn what sex actually was. He was still discovering his own bodily urges and the beautiful older Californian boy from across the waters was the person who drove most of these urges out of hiding. Toshiro had obviously fantasised many meetings, many scenarios of what being with Yukio would actually be like. In his fantasies though he was always a lot bolder, a lot more daring and willing to make first moves and he scowled to himself that he hadn’t been like that with him at all. Of course reality was completely different to what you imagined in your head but it would still be nice to be that little bit bolder. Toshiro took another sip of his warm water, his eyes slipping in and out of focus on the blond.

‘Well, no we’ve not been on an official date, yes he’s treating me right- look are all these questions just going to be about my sex and my relationships? Have I really deprived you all _that_ much?’ he was laughing that adorable Yukio laugh and Toshiro grinned over at him. He was running a hand through his blond hair and Toshiro felt his heart swell, it was one of the idiosyncrasies that just encompassed Yukio as a whole entity.

Just what delightful expression would cross his face if Toshiro _did_ go and bend over in his line of sight? Exactly what would the Yukies see? Would they know what was going on? Would they be able to guess? Would he react at all or look away? Toshiro was nervous but a little excited at the prospect of finding out as he took a deep breath. His cheeks were on fire as he walked towards the fridge freezer and opened the freezer side. He was going to take his time with this he wanted to draw the blonds’ attention.

‘Okay so, I mentioned that I was going to be getting a snowboarding lesson it’s likely that will be my next video,’ he said. ‘I- thought, I thought that… I thought that…’ he was jabbering on as Toshiro finally plucked up the courage and bent to try and get the ice cube tray out.

‘Fuck,’ he heard the blond hiss behind him and Toshiro grinned slyly to himself as he pulled one of the trays out and examined them. They were only half filled so he shoved them back in and pulled another tray out that was a rubber mould and would be easier to extract the ice from anyway.

‘Wait… what?’ Yukio muttered as Toshiro stood up to put a few of the ice cubes into his glass. He was satisfied when three were bobbing merrily around in the glass.

‘What’s distraction?’ the blond mumbled as Toshiro bent back down to replace the tray back into the bottom part of the freezer. He straightened up and picked up his glass and took a massive gulp trying to quell the heat from his cheeks as he turned around to see Yukio staring at him, his mouth slightly open and his camera completely ignored. Toshiro took another gulp of the cool liquid and ducked his head as he felt more heat rising in his cheeks. He walked out from the kitchen area and Yukio just followed him with that same dumb looking expression on his face.

‘I’ll be in bed if you need me,’ Toshiro mumbled, he knew the Yukies would not be able to hear him for the boy was using a unidirectional microphone that was pointed towards the blond. He quickly scampered from the room and with a grin placed his water on a shelf just out in the hall and quickly took the t shirt off.

‘Okay so… what were we… talking about?’ Yukio was clearly trying to compose himself and Toshiro made a scene of throwing the t shirt back into the living room so that Yukio would know he was now fully naked as he picked his glass of water back up to head to the bedroom.

‘Okay guys I have to go, so sorry, love you bye-‘ he heard an array of noises and with a laugh Toshiro bolted to the room. He didn’t close the door behind him as he placed the glass on the bedside table and threw himself back into the bed to snuggle down into the covers. He was grinning like a love struck teenager but he didn’t care. Soon he heard the heavier footsteps of the blond heading for the bedroom.

‘You’re a fucking tease,’ the blond laughed as he opened the door and came into the room. Toshiro was facing away from him under the covers and he grinned into the pillow as he heard the boys feet pad across the laminate flooring towards the bed. ‘I was working and you just… god, I swear there’s gonna be memes now.’ Toshiro felt the bed covers being lifted and suddenly there was a weight slipping into the bed behind him. Toshiro still didn’t stir or turn to face him and soon he could feel the blond pulling in very close to him.

‘Hey,’ the Californian accent drawled in his ear and Toshiro shuddered at the feeling. ‘Thought I’d have taken it out of you last night,’ he mumbled his arm wrapping around Toshiros waist and pulling him in against his chest as his hand splayed out across his lower abdomen.

‘I wanted to offer some revenge for the state of my body this morning.’ Toshiro said in a deadpan tone that he was totally famous for.

‘Ah’ Yukio chuckled behind him and pulled the covers away to expose the top of Toshiros shoulders and back for his own eyes. ‘Yes, sorry about that, I got a bit carried away.’

‘Were you trying to have sex with me or eat me?’ Toshiro deadpanned again causing the blond to chuckle.

‘You look too fucking tempting it isn’t my fault,’ he cooed into his ear and Toshiro shuddered, closing his eyes as the blond began to kiss the back of his shoulder. ‘You looked good in my shirt too, even better when you bent over. You did that on purpose right?’ he mumbled into Toshiros ear and the prodigy felt his eyes drooping without his conscious consent.

‘Maybe…’

‘Do you want to stay overnight again?’ Yukio muttered and Toshiro finally wriggled around to face him. The blond was lying on his left side with his head propped on his left arm gazing at Toshiro with a light-hearted look.

‘I need to go and pick up my stuff, what about the snowboarding?’ Toshiro asked, he figured it was probably a bit too late for them to go today anyway and he really wanted to do nothing more than wrap himself around the blond and spend all day in his arms.

‘Well, it’s nearly 2pm.’ He laughed, ‘by the time we get ready, pick up your stuff and head there the place will be shut won’t it?’

‘Yeah,’ Toshiro made a face, ‘we could skip Uni at some point this week and go.’

‘Is exactly what I was thinking,’ Yukio grinned, ‘we could just go tomorrow. I can’t skip out on a Wednesday because I still head that class but other than that…’ he leaned down and pecked Toshiros cheek.

‘So this wasn’t just a dream or a one night stand?’ Toshiro asked curiously and the blond drew back looking around as if he’d just been slapped.

‘What? No,’ he laughed but it was almost humourless. ‘What gave you that idea?’

‘Just seems a little too good to be true,’ Toshiro mumbled, his hand reaching for the blonds face where he placed it gently against his cheek and ran his thumb along the skin of his cheek. His skin was baby soft - he must moisturise - was the puerile thought that crossed Toshiros mind as he touched the skin.

‘Tell me about it,’ Yukio mumbled turning his head to kiss Toshiros thumb before snuggling down into the pillow beside him. ‘You slept for ages, I thought you’d never wake up. It’s okay though I got my chance to take a good few naked pictures of you while you slept.’

‘You did not!’ Toshiro tried to scamper away from the boy in the bed but the blond was much stronger and just held him in place was a solid arm wrapped around his waist.

‘No of course not, I’m not a pervert but I did think about it,’ he laughed and Toshiro glared indignantly at him.

‘Thank goodness,’ Toshiro mumbled as he pulled the covers up to hide his face. ‘That’d have been totally embarrassing.’

‘I did sit on the edge of the bed and watch you sleep for a while, you’re so cute when you’re all passed out. Even more so than when you wear your glasses and believe me when I say that’s a huge deal.’

‘Is the glasses thing a fettish?’ Toshiro asked trying to ignore the fact he’d been watched creepily as he slept.

‘I guess a little, yeah…’ Yukio mumbled, ‘yes, well… I mean when I think of you wearing them I literally get hard so yes I’d say so.’

‘I’ll go and buy a fake pair then because I should only be wearing them for certain things, not all the time.’ He replied now lowering the covers a little so that his eyes could see over to the blond.

‘Alright I will buy you a few fake pairs just to wear for me,’ he mumbled as he snuggled in closer.

‘So does this mean?’

‘What?’ Yukio asked and Toshiro felt his face heat up as he shook his head.

‘Nothing.’

‘No talk to me, does this mean what?’

‘That we’re going to be doing this again?’ Toshiro asked tentatively.

‘Oh god, do you not want too?’

‘No I do-‘

‘That would suck if it was just a one night stand-‘

‘No I do want to do this again,’ Toshiro laughed and shook his head, ‘I just wanted to make sure you did too.’

‘This isn’t one of those awkward conversations where we ask what we are yet is it?’

‘I am a gay male who just joined the twenties club, see that wasn’t awkward?’ Toshiro smiled and Yukio grinned at him.

‘Does this gay male in the twenties club want to spend another night here and go on a date with me tomorrow?’

‘Let me ask him, please stay on the line.’ Toshiro waited for a few moments as the blond chuckled at him. ‘Yes he’d like that.’

‘Would you like to wear some of my things?’

‘No if it’s okay with you I’d like to swing by mine and pick up my own things and maybe have a shower too.’

‘You could shower here?’

‘Alright,’ Toshiro smiled as he remembered the lavish walk in shower that the blond owned. It was an expensive one but as demonstrated the evening before it served well. There was one problem though and as the blond snuggled into him and placed a kiss against his cheek he obviously registered the fact that Toshiros face had fallen.

‘What is it?’ Yukio asked a slight apprehension to his voice.

‘I just remembered, Rangiku is off work today.’ He groaned and shook his head, ‘I will have to see her when I go to mine to pick stuff up.’

‘It won’t be too bad,’ Yukio laughed and Toshiro glared at him.

‘I’m covered in bite marks and I can barely walk straight.’

‘Whoops,’ the blond was grinning like crazy and didn’t look the least bit apologetic for what he’d did, ‘my bad.’

‘Your bad indeed,’ Toshiro smiled and shook his head. ‘So what’s the plan?’

‘Well,’ Yukio smiled. ‘Let’s just make out for a bit then we can go and get some food because I’m starving and we can swing by yours and pick stuff up. If you need backup I can come with you and we can face the wrath that is Rangiku together?’ he asked and Toshiro smiled.

‘It sounds like a good plan to me,’ he felt the blonds hand on his face guiding it to meet his own lips and the make out session begun. It started slowly and just as it had the first time he’d kissed Yukio it sent jolts up and down his body. The blonds’ unique scent washed over him and he couldn’t help but smile into the kiss. If he could ever freeze a moment in time to relive forever this would be it. Yukios hand that was wrapped around his waist stroked up his arm, tracing it with his finger and leaving a trail of goose bumps in its wake. Then the kiss deepened, their mouths moving against each other and Yukio moved to hover over him as they kissed. Toshiro could feel the heat from the older males body heat up his own and he groaned when a wet muscle infiltrated his mouth deepening the kiss even further.

‘We have to stop,’ Toshiro panted as he pulled away and turned his head to the side. Yukio didn’t relent however and instead started to kiss blazing trails up and down his bitten neck.

‘Why?’

‘Because,’ he mumbled, ‘my balls ache I can’t… do it again.’

Yukio paused his assault against his neck for a beats silence then burst out laughing. He rolled away from the smaller male and laughed out into the room. Toshiro grinned into the pillow, he was happy to be the person to make that kind of sound come from the Californian boys’ mouth. It filled him with a warm and comforting feeling and he vowed – somewhere in the back of his head – to always try and make the blond laugh.

‘Alright then,’ Yukio laughed a cheeky hand finding its way back around his body to squeeze at Toshiros ass. Toshiro leapt into him at the feeling, his half hard member pressing against Yukios clothed thigh as he did so and he smacked the blond indignantly. ‘I’ll take you to go and pick up your stuff, c’mon. We can grab food too, I’m famished.’ The Californian accent sounded amused as he said it and Toshiro sighed, he was incredibly hungry too.

Yukio slipped out of bed and left the room. Toshiro slipped from the bed and padded behind him watching as the blond went into the living room and came back with Toshiros clothing from the night before. Toshiros naked body was half hidden behind the bedroom door as he reached out his hand to take the clothes back.

‘Nope, you want them? Come get them.’ His eyes were sparkling with mischief and Toshiro flushed, stepping out from behind the door and making his way over to the blond whose eyes were ravishing his naked frame. ‘Sorry for all the bruises,’ he muttered as Toshiro lifted his clothing from his arms and quickly scampered back to the room to get dressed.

‘Bruises will heal but I might never be able to walk normally again,’ Toshiro huffed back over his shoulder which once again elicited that beautiful laugh from the blonds mouth. Toshiro realised that in his knowledge of all things sound and all things audio he had never heard a more beautiful tune in his life.

* * *

 

Once the two boys were changed and Toshiro had managed to brush his teeth using the cheap brush he’d bought the night before they left the apartment to head out towards Yukios car. Yukio stuck his head out first to ensure that there were no crazy fans lurking about and put his hood up as they bolted for the vehicle.

‘Rangiku… is going to have a field day,’ Toshiro mumbled as he eyed up the bruises on his neck and arms with a scowl. His phone had died during the night owing to its shitty battery life and he was sure that she’d have tried to call him several times.

‘Do you want me to come up with you?’ the blond asked and Toshiro watched as he pressed a button to start the automatic car.

‘No, I can usually try and keep some stuff secret from her, you I don’t trust.’ He narrowed his eyes and the blond and Yukio looked affronted.

‘Do you seriously think that I’d give Rangiku all the juicy details of our love making?’

‘Yes.’

‘Yeah you’re right I probably would,’ he laughed as they drove around the cobble streets of Edinburgh heading in the direction of Toshiros apartment.

‘Exactly, last thing I need,’ he covered his face with his hands and Yukio grinned.

‘How long will you be?’

‘As fast as I _can_ be,’ he replied as they pulled up outside the block of flats.

‘Alright I’ll wait here for you,’ he leaned over and Toshiro smiled sheepishly as he leaned forward and accepted the small lip lock. ‘Hey, you didn’t lean back that time,’ Yukio smiled.

‘No, I guess not,’ Toshiro quickly ducked out the car and ran to the apartment. Get in, get his stuff, get out that’s what he had to do. If he was fast and quiet maybe Rangiku wouldn’t even notice. He opened the apartment with his key and carefully pushed open the door and-

‘TOSHIRO!’ Rangiku bounded from the kitchen, her hair up in a tight bun and some of the strawberry locks spilling down around her neck. She was in her pink winter pyjama set that he’d bought her for Christmas the year before.

‘H-hey Rangi-‘

‘OH MY GOD YOUR NECK!’ she threw back her head and laughed and Toshiro flinched trying to scamper for his room. She was fast when she wanted to be though and a hand encircled his arm and pulled him flush against the wall of the hall. ‘So?’ her eyes were sparkling with mischief and she wore a superior look on her face. ‘How was he?’

‘Rangiku,’ he squeaked, ‘I am not- I won’t, this isn’t…’

‘Come on Toshiro give me something, anything- did he bite your arms?’ she asked lifting one of his arms up to inspect it. ‘But of a rough lover isn’t he?’

‘N-no,’ Toshiro squirmed from her grasp and walked towards his room.

‘If he’s not a rough lover then why are you limping?’

Toshiro groaned with embarrassment and went to shut his bedroom door behind him but she stopped it with a hand and followed him inside.

‘He didn’t hurt you did he?’ all traces of teasing were gone from her voice and she was genuinely asking because she was now concerned.

‘N-no, not in a bad way,’ his cheeks flushed as he picked up his rucksack and emptied it out.

‘Are you staying at his again?’ she asked her voice sounding a bit more content now that she knew he was alright.

‘Yes, he asked me too.’

‘How many times did you guys do it?’

‘Rangiku I won’t be answering these obscene questions.’

‘That’s fine, he’s parked downstairs right? I’ll go ask him.’

‘Don’t you dare!’ he flew after her as she put a jacket on over her pyjamas and slipped some shoes on. He tried to block the door from her but she was too strong and with one arm removed him from her way.

‘Oh Yukio-‘ she called down the hall as she left and Toshiro flew back to his room. If he packed his bag quickly he could salvage the situation. Phone charger, keys, boxers, fresh t shirts, fresh jeans, clean socks, once he had the list he flew to the bathroom and grabbed his own shower gel and sponge. It was all hastily shoved into his bag before he grabbed his snowboarding outfit and put that in as well. He pulled his snowboard out from under his bed and heaved into his arms and ran out the apartment.

‘Four times? I can’t believe you, is that even biologically possible? I know women can,’ Rangiku was laughing. She had her head stuck in the open window of the car and Toshiro could see Yukios grin from under his sunglasses. He’d brought the sunglasses from California because there was no need to sell anything like that in Scotland where it was never sunny. He only wore them because he looked cool and he knew it.

‘Yeah it is possible just nothing comes out,’ Yukio confirmed and Toshiro groaned as he walked around to slip into the passenger side of the car.

‘Well I won’t keep you two here sounds like you have a lot of other _fun_ things you could be doing.’ She teased and Toshiro tried to turn away from her but she had walked around to his side and Yukio had rolled down his window.

‘Rangiku,’ Toshiro scowled at her, his face on fire. She leaned in and kissed his cheek, wrapping her arms around him and whispered into his ear.

‘I’m really happy for you Tosh,’ she mumbled and he wrapped his arms back around her. ‘Remember I’m here if you need me.’ He felt his heart swell for the woman, as annoying as she was she was literally his big sister. She had been his whole life and he nodded into her embrace, pecking her cheek as she pulled away. She straightened up and grinned at them then walked back towards the apartment with a wave over her shoulder.

‘That was cute, she really does look after you doesn’t she?’ Yukio asked with a soft voice.

‘Yeah she does, so are we going to get food?’

‘Yeah I’m starving,’ Yukio laughed, ‘we probably shouldn’t go in together though just in case.’ He parked his car down a shady side street but had a permit so he didn’t need to pay. Toshiro left first and went towards the subway they saw around the corner, Yukio text him his order.

_‘I slipped a £20 in your pocket ;) get me two foot longs one a BLT and the other a meatball sub both with cheese and toasted. Also two bottles of cola and three cookies, any kind. Xxx’_

Toshiro swore, the boy could really eat, he smiled to himself as he bought their order and headed back to the car. He expected Yukio to be there but he wasn’t and Toshiro opened his phone about to text him when the boy came around the corner and unlocked the car.

‘Where did you go?’

‘Got you a gift,’ he grinned and handed the bag over to him as they slipped into the car. Toshiro balanced the subway sandwiches to peer into the bag and felt heat rise into his cheeks and a smile grace his lips.

‘Fake glasses?’

‘Yes, they’re compulsory if you’re going to be dating me.’

‘Am I?’

‘What?’

‘Dating you?’

‘Well technically we’ve not been on a date yet, but otherwise yes?’ he grinned as he drove the car away. ‘Don’t need you running off to that… Kai or whatever his name was.’ There was no mistaking the obvious jealously in his tone as he said it.

‘Don’t worry I don’t plan on it, you better not go running off with Ichigo and Renji then?’

‘Never,’ he laughed and they sung along to the radio on the way back to his apartment. Toshiro realised that the blond really was a terrible singer but he didn’t mind hearing him sing. It was just another sign that the boy was happy.

Toshiro had seen the blond devour the food at Christmas time so he was not sure why he was so surprised at how much he ate now. When they got back to the apartment, Yukio had put the Sky television on and they were sitting happily watching Friends as Yukio devoured the two foot longs, then two cookies – he gave one to Toshiro – and then went to his fridge and brought out strawberries and blueberries and ate those too.

‘Do you ever stop eating?’ Toshiro laughed, he’d only bought a 6 inch sub and barely finished it. He was picking away at the cookie that Yukio had given him as he watched the blond.

‘I’m a growing man,’ Yukio scowled at him, ‘and after all we did last night can you really blame me? The real question here is, why the hell are you not eating as much as me?’

‘I’ve never been one to eat a lot,’ Toshiro smiled. ‘Is that what you live off of then? Subways?’

‘I can cook grilled chicken, but that’s about it,’ he laughed and Toshiro frowned.

‘Well I’ll start feeding you proper meals, I’m sure Rangiku would happily have you over at ours for dinner every night.’

‘That sounds amazing,’ he pulled in close and wrapped an arm around him as they continued to watch the TV.

‘By the way… the Yukies…’ Toshiro wasn’t sure how to word it. ‘When… do you want to tell them about me?’ he felt nervous in his stomach as he said it.

‘When you’re totally ready. We don’t have to think about it just now, that’s a huge step forward. Your privacy will become compromised, not as much as an actual celebrity but enough that sometimes it can stress you out.’ Yukios face had turned serious as he gazed down at him.

‘And what… about… when you move back to California?’ Toshiro asked, he tried to keep any hurt from his voice but the truth was it was just a few months away with the boy was due to move back.

‘We will cross those bridges when we come to them, for just now lets just enjoy each other okay?’ Yukio asked and Toshiro nodded his head snuggling up against his chest. He wanted to enjoy every moment he had with the blond because he was not sure if it would last forever. He did know something though, he’d do everything in his power to prove to the blond that it should be. As they lay cuddled up against the leather fabric, Toshiro clutched the boys shirt in his fist. He wouldn’t be going anywhere, he’d spent too long trying to get the damn blond to begin with.


	14. A Punny Reveal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This was so much fun to write xD

Toshiro almost didn’t want to move the next morning, despite being quite the morning person. He sighed contently surrounded by Yukios scent which seemed to be laced into everything in his room especially his pillows and covers. The scent was warming and comforting and rich and he couldn’t help but smile a little. The blonds’ arms were wrapped around him and Toshiro grinned when he realised that his boyfriend was a bit of a light snorer. Not so much that it was annoying and certainly he wasn’t making the noises right now as he lay on his side, it was during the night when he’d turned onto his stomach for a while and Toshiro had got up to go to the bathroom that he’d heard it. It was more a deep and even breathing than actual snores but the sound was comforting and Toshiro found himself just casually listening as he fell asleep. Now it seemed the blond had wound his arms around him to stop him leaving the bed too early or waking up too soon. They’d not done anything massively sexual the night before given how sore Toshiro was already though they had kissed and then fell asleep cuddled up together. Yukios left arm was slung across his waist and his face was nuzzled into the back of Toshiros neck as the prodigy twisted around to face him. He looked so cute and peaceful as he slept and Toshiro lay watching him for a while until he started to rouse.

‘Good morning,’ Toshiro smiled at him as he groaned and rolled over.

‘S’early,’ Yukio mumbled and Toshiro chuckled rolling into his chest and snuggling up against him so that his left cheek was pressed against Yukios right peck.

‘You don’t even know what time it is yet.’ Toshiro chuckled.

‘You’re awake,’ he mused, clearly still half asleep. ‘Means s’early,’ he mumbled and gave a loud yawn that echoed around the room. Toshiro didn’t reply but he chuckled into his side. Yukios arm wound back around him and pulled in him in close, stroking up and down his bare side under the covers. They lay like that for quite some time and Toshiro was sure they both must have drifted off again because next thing he knew it had gone from 8am to 10am and he was feeling like he’d slept too much despite not going to bed until 1am. They’d stayed awake and talked quite a bit about other personal parts of their life. Toshiro had got the weird sensation that Yukio was hiding something from him but each time he attempted to ask more about the blond boys history the questions were diverted back to Toshiro.

‘It’s time to get up,’ Toshiro stretched and yawned. He was feeling significantly less sore today as he turned back around and prodded his lovers’ side. He watched as Yukio rolled away from him and pulled the covers up over his head. How he made it to University… like ever was beyond him. Toshiro rolled out of bed and went for a shower, deciding if Yukio wasn’t out of bed by the time he came back through he was getting a jug of cold water over his head.

While he was in the shower he thought over the prospect of the Yukies finding out about him. It was only a matter of time and he was sure it wouldn’t bother him too much. He’d just be a third party interest, nothing quite as extensive as Yukio himself who was the actual celebrity. Plus when Yukio went back to California everyone would know he was taken. He knew that was a terrible reason for wanting to do it but… it was part of the reason why he wanted to do it so bad. The sound of the shower door sliding open drew Toshiros attention. He blushed a little though he wasn’t quite sure why, after everything they’d done two nights ago.

‘Hmmm, you look good wet,’ Yukio purred in his ear as he wrapped his arms around him and Toshiro felt himself being pulled flush against the blonds chest. ‘You were also taking a while so I thought I’d come and make sure you hadn’t drowned.’ Toshiro rolled his eyes and smiled a little as he played idly with Yukios hands.

‘I’m Scottish, we know how to handle rain this is pretty much the same thing.’

‘True,’ he laughed and the blond was reaching for the soap.

‘You’re seriously showering with me?’ Toshiro asked, watching as he took the soap down off the shelf but hesitated at his words.

‘Do you not want me too?’ he asked, his voice very serious but he looked a little startled.

‘Well,’ Toshiro shrugged, ‘just seems the kind of thing boyfriends do.’

‘Aren’t we boyfriends?’ Yukio frowned not quite understanding what was going on.

‘Just wanted to make sure you thought we were first,’ Toshiro grinned and Yukio rolled his eyes as he continued lifting the bar of soap off the shelf. Then Toshiro felt his arms sneak back around his waist from behind. Yukio insisted on helping Toshiro clean himself which he was far too self conscious for and it resulted in a bit of a play flight in the shower where they both nearly slipped before Yukio gave in. He decided it wasn’t worth the two of them dying over just so he could run a soap bar over Toshiros ass.

Once they both left the shower Toshiro tried to get changed without being stared at by the blond but it was insanely difficult as no matter where he went the blond seemed to follow him.

‘What on earth is wrong with you?’ Toshiro asked, half exasperated, half amused.

‘Sorry it’s your ass, it has me transfixed,’ Yukio was staring at it without meeting his eyes and Toshiro just sighed but gave him a view as he bent over to put boxers on. Yukio made a throaty noise which Toshiro pretended to ignore as he went about getting dressed.

‘So are you taking me snowboarding today?’ Yukio chuckled, he seemed giddy with excitement and was acting a bit like a child.

‘Yes,’ Toshiro smirked at him, ‘so wear something warm and comfortable. ‘Before we go though…’ he could feel his stomach clenching with nerves. ‘I want to talk to you about something.’

‘What?’ Yukio asked turning to look at him with his jeans halfway up his legs.

‘I want… to make us official. I know the Yukies will find out eventually anyway I want it to be on our terms.’ He said and Yukio blinked up at him.

‘A-are you sure?’ he asked.

‘Definitely,’ Toshiro nodded. He was being selfish, he knew that but he wanted everyone to know that Yukio was off limits especially before he went back to California. ‘Would you like to tell them all in todays video?’ Yukio thought a bit about it as he finished putting on his trousers then shook his head.

‘No I want it to be a less formal video, just something quick and quirky as opposed to a full video.’ He shook his head and Toshiro frowned at him tilting his head to the side curiously. ‘We can film it tonight.’ He winked at him. Toshiro wanted to ask more about it but he got the feeling Yukio wasn’t going to let up so he let it go.

‘Is that what you’re wearing?’ Toshiro smirked at him just moments later as they were going to leave the apartment.

‘Yes,’ Yukio looked down at himself, he was wearing a pair of comfortable looking jeans which should be fine and a long sleeved jumper. Toshiro pursed his lips.

‘You’re going to be freezing,’ he chuckled and Yukio made a face at him.

‘I’ll be fine, stop mothering me,’ he rolled his eyes and the two left.

* * *

 

Toshiro had been right, the moment they stepped inside the frozen indoor ski slopes Yukios teeth were chattering. The Californian boy was not used to temperatures like this and Toshiro led him to one of the indoor shops where Yukio was able to purchase an appropriate jacket that would help him retain his heat. Yukio took Toshiros goggles and fixed some kind of mini camera onto the front of them. Toshiro looked at them and frowned, why did he need a camera? Then he realised that Yukio was also putting one on the front of his goggles that he’d also bought in the store.

‘That way when you’re looking at me I can get shots of myself and I can also get shots of you.’ He chuckled and Toshiro quickly put his goggles on. ‘You know they’re still going to recognise its you because you’ve got white hair and you’re so tiny.’ That remark earned him a playful punch to his arm as they made their way to the beginners slope.

Toshiro took his time showing Yukio his form and helping him get set up on the snowboard that they’d rented. It was just a standard board, nothing special though Yukio was jealously eyeing Toshiros board that had an iced dragon on it and a black and blue colour scheme that matched the rest of his attire.

‘You look so cool,’ he pouted and Toshiro smirked at him.

‘You keep talking like that and people will work it out before we tell them.’ He rolled his eyes and Yukio grinned.

‘I can edit it out though.’

‘Edit what out?-‘ Yukio stole his lips in an awkward kiss as he had half been turning his head to face him and their goggles collided on their face. There wasn’t enough time to make it passionate as they both burst out laughing and quickly glanced around to make sure no one saw them. There were only a few people here at this time as the schools were still on and the people who were there weren’t paying them any attention.

Toshiro watched as Yukio demonstrated getting his boots strapped into the snowboard and standing up on his own. Once Toshiro was satisfied he wouldn’t fall down he pulled his goggles down his face and demonstrated how to get from the top down the bottom.

‘Now, just copy exactly what I did, bring yourself around and let the gravity pull you down.’ Toshiro called back up to him. It was a small slope and Yukio got about a foot down the hill before he lost his balance and fell onto his ass. At least he fell the right way, Toshiro thought to himself as he pursed his lips. ‘Get back up and do it again.’ He laughed as Yukio flailed, trying to push himself back up and falling back down again. Toshiro leaned down and unhooked his snowboard before running back up the small slope to save his boyfriend who was laughing hysterically at the whole ordeal.

‘I can’t move,’ he laughed in his sexy Californian accent and Toshiro pretended to scowl at him but really he was just as amused as the blond boy was. He reached out with a gloved hand and took Yukios gloved hand in his yanking him to his feed. ‘You know for a short guy, you’re really strong.’

‘Do you _want_ me to knock you back down?’ Toshiro shot back at him. Yukio pursed his lips in amusement but otherwise didn’t say anything. He got about another two foot down the hill and fell on his ass again, this time he’d built up enough speed that he continued to slide down the hill on his ass.

‘I must look so pathetic to you,’ he laughed when Toshiro came to save him once again.

‘You do,’ Toshiro chuckled, ‘its fine though, everyone sucks to begin with. You’re not bending your knees for balance.’

‘Yeah because when I do that it feels like I’m going to fall over.’

‘Well why don’t you try it because right now you’re falling over anyway.’

‘Good point,’ he allowed himself to be helped to his feet once again and this time Toshiro kept a hold of him until he was facing the right way and had bent his knees. This time he made it all the way down to the bottom of the hill before falling on his ass. As he skidded down on his bum he pumped a fist into the air.

‘Well done,’ Toshiro laughed as he came down beside him to pick up his snowboard. ‘Let’s see if you can make it all the way down this time without falling on your ass?’

‘I’m not making any promises but that looks fun,’ he pointed to the machine that was used to pull snowboarders up the slope. The first time they’d just walked up the side. The beginners slope wasn’t very steep anyway and even though no one was really meant to be on it without a snowboard or skis he was let away with it as a part time instructor.

‘Yes, very fun,’ Toshiro smirked at him, ‘follow me.’ He led his boyfriend over to it and they grasped the black poles that pulled them up the hill, Yukio copied exactly what Toshiro did and Toshiro kept turned towards him as much as he could for the camera to capture him. Yes, very fun,’ Toshiro smirked at him, ‘follow me.’ He led his boyfriend over to it and they grasped the black poles that pulled them up the hill, Yukio copied exactly what Toshiro did and Toshiro kept turned towards him as much as he could for the camera to capture him. Yukio was giving adorable little waves and once they were at the top of the hill he forced Toshiro to face forward so he could do a piece straight to the camera.

‘Alright everyone? it's Y-Y-Yukio! I’m here at the snow slopes with the one and only Toshiro,’ he grinned as he said it.

‘Do that again, you look far too happy.’ Toshiro interrupted causing Yukio to laugh. ‘They’re gonna know.’

‘We want them to know.’

‘I thought you said not in this video.’

‘Okay, okay.’ He laughed and started again, ‘alright everyone? It’s y-y-y-‘

‘Now you just sound miserable.’

‘You’re impossible to please.’ Yukio scowled at him and Toshiro laughed. If this had been about another activity that really wasn’t the case and Yukio seemed to catch on. ‘Well unless I’m fucking-‘

‘Okay yes, you’ve made your point.’ Toshiro could feel his face heat up and waved a hand at Yukio to continue in anyway he saw fit.

‘Alright everyone? it's Y-Y-Yukio!’ the blond said again but seemed in a kind of fit of chuckles that just made him look completely adorable on the camera. ‘And I’m here with- T-Toshiro,’ he was laughing and Toshiro just shook his head.

‘Cut,’ he laughed, ‘you’re meant to be a professional, get it together.’

‘You’re making me laugh!’ Yukio grinned at him and Toshiro shook his head. ‘Alright, lemme compose myself.’ He took an exaggerated deep breath and burst out laughing again, he pointed at Toshiro and slipped and fell when he wasn’t even moving, landing hard on his ass.

‘That has to go in your video,’ Toshiro laughed at him, ‘you weren’t even moving. Ladies and Gentleman the biggest twat award goes too…’ Toshiro made his way gracefully towards him and glanced down so the camera would get a good view of the blond boy who lay giggling on the ground.

‘My ass is wet,’ Yukio laughed.

‘I’m sure that’s a little more than they needed to know.’ Toshiro laughed and held out his hand again helping the blond back to his feet. ‘Come on, fourth times the charm.’

‘Alright everyone? it's Y-Y-Yukio! Today I’m at the Ski slopes learning how to snowboard with the little fluffy white haired instructor Toshiro,’ Toshiro gave a casual little way up towards his camera perched on Yukios head. ‘How are we doing so far Toshiro?’

‘Not good,’ Toshiro scoffed and folded his arms across his chest but kept the smile on his face. ‘So far your ass has seen more now than the bottom of your board.’

‘He’s funny,’ Yukio scoffed then glanced down the hill. ‘We’re ready to tackle some slopes.’

‘Or the ground,’ Toshiro chuckled. ‘On you go, I’ll be right behind you.’

Yukio went and he fell again on his ass, Toshiro waited patiently and this time the boy was able to get himself to his feet without any help. He turned to give Toshiro a big thumbs up and nearly fell again before steadying himself. Toshiro was trying to keep the stupid love sick grin off his face but he was finding it rather difficult. When his boyfriend finally made it down the slope he turned and asked for Toshiro to follow him and he did. He made it look as easy as breathing and when he got to the bottom Yukio frowned at him.

‘Show off,’ he muttered and Toshiro just grinned at him.

‘What do you think, ready for the bigger slopes?’ Toshiro asked him and he puffed out his chest.

‘Sure lets do it.’

Tackling the bigger slopes didn’t go as bad as Toshiro thought, Yukio only fell a handful of times and his jeans were completely soaked through by the end of it. Toshiro couldn’t stop laughing as the blond turned and ran a hand across his soaking wet ass.

‘Gods it feels so uncomfortable,’ he frowned.

‘Tell me about it,’ Toshiro rolled his eyes but the joke went straight over the blonds head. He decided to call it a day when Yukios lips started to turn from the delicate shade of pink to blue. They returned his board and shoes but he kept the jacket he’d bought making a mental note to purchase some waterproof trousers to wear should he ever decide to pursue this ‘as a career’.

‘It must be nice to be able to buy things whenever you want,’ Toshiro mused with a smile, ‘without having to worry about the cost.’

‘Such is the life of fame and fortune,’ Yukio chuckled then shook his head. ‘But we still have to be careful, though you’re right it is nice. Especially because I never really had much before.’

‘Oh?’ Toshiro stopped in front of him on the street and gazed into his emerald eye. Most of the time he avoided talking about his past life and Toshiro didn’t want the opportunity to probe a little deeper slip him by. ‘What do you mean?’

‘Nothing,’ he grinned and shook his head. ‘It doesn’t matter, hey if you start your own channel you wouldn’t have to worry about money either. Seriously I’ve been thinking and you and Rukia and-‘

‘Come on Yukio, I don’t know anything about you,’ Toshiro threw his hands into the air, ‘except the lies you told the Yukies.’

‘Fine,’ Yukio glanced around, ‘look let’s go and get some food and go back to mine and I’ll talk to you but nothing I say goes any further than us.’

‘Of course,’ Toshiro blinked at him.

When they’d selected an assortment of pizzas to take back to his apartment they made their way back. Toshiro had wanted to go and spend the night back with Rangiku but he didn’t want to the miss the chance to get to know more about the blond boy. Rangiku would understand anyway considering Yukios time left in Scotland was quickly depleting.

‘So,’ Toshiro opened the box of pizza and turned to him, ‘talk to me.’

‘When I grew up my family were pretty rich, you know that. They money was all made by my mother though and I think my father thought if they had a child she’d pay him more attention. He didn’t leave her because he was so used to the life of luxury that she provided for him.’ He ate another slice of pizza and Toshiro tilted his head curiously to the side as he watched him. This was different to the story he had heard in his ‘draw my life’ video.

‘She gave him a child but obviously they had one for all the wrong reasons, so I got the blunt of the blame. They were frustrated, she was frustrated with me because I didn’t appease my father and he was frustrated with me because I didn’t allow my mother to stay.’ Yukio put his slice of pizza down and sighed. It was the first time Toshiro hadn’t seen the boy actually devouring food like his life depended on it.

‘So they used to abuse you,’ Toshiro finished remembering the time when Yukio had opened up to Rangiku about it and he’d been present. Yukio shrugged his shoulders and glanced away from him.

‘Yeah,’ the way he said it made Toshiro narrow his eyes. It sounded like he was on the verge of saying something else, something more.

‘Was there something worse?’ he asked and Yukio played nervously with the edge of the pizza box.

‘Well, my father… because my mother wasn’t around… he’d take his frustrations out on me… sometimes that also…’ he took a deep breath, ‘included his sexual frustrations too.’ As these words left his mouth Toshiro froze. Suddenly it made sense, why Yukio would never bottom.

‘Oh Yukio,’ Toshiro could feel his eyes shining as he scooted closer to him on the couch. ‘I’m so sorry.’ He nuzzled into his chest and Yukio wrapped his arms securely around him. ‘Is that why you can’t…?’

‘Yeah, I just have too many bad memories.’ He nuzzled his face into Toshiros hair. ‘I’ve always wanted to be a part of a big loving family. A family that treats each other the way they’re meant too. But I think it’s only ever going to be a dream.’

‘We kind of have a family just now, you and I, Rangiku, Ichigo, Renji and Rukia.’ He smiled and he could feel the blond smiling above him.

‘Yeah, anyway happier topics; the youtuber thing… As I said earlier I really think you should go for it.’

‘Hey,’ Toshiro reached up and took his face in his hands. ‘Thank you for telling me.’ He leaned forward and pecked him once on the lips, tasting the pizza that he’d been passively eating. Toshiro had a lot more questions, he wanted to ask why his mother never left his father, how he got out of it all but he didn’t want to open the channels back up again if they were going to hurt him. It was all in the past now and Yukio was very clearly trying to move on with his life.

‘What videos would I do?’ Toshiro wrinkled his nose as he continued to nuzzle into his chest. ‘I’m not funny or quirky like you and Ichigo.’

‘You’re definitely quirky,’ he chuckled, ‘but I was thinking you and Rukia could start a music channel together? You could duet and sometimes perform solo.’

‘I don’t know I’m not that good.’

‘Toshiro you’re plenty good.’ He couldn’t see the blonds’ reaction but he was sure he was rolling his eyes. ‘The Yukies will love you, why not let me film a video? You could sing the song you wrote for me, they’d love it. We can ask them if you should pursue youtube.’

‘I don’t know,’ his heart was hammering.

‘With the money you could come visit me anytime you wanted, you could buy anything you liked. No more Djing in bars where other guys buy you drinks.’ His voice was a little salty at that and Toshiro grinned to himself. It was nice to know he wasn’t the only one that got jealous. He considered what his boyfriend said and weighed up the pros and cons. He wasn’t a very confident person but landing a guy like Yukio definitely made him feel more confident and he didn’t want anything to come between them. Still choosing to do something outlandishly crazy that could launch him into some kind of internet fame shouldn’t just be done on a whim.

‘Alright, we’ll do one test video.’ Toshiro finally admitted.

‘On top of the video we’re doing tonight to tell the Yukies who my boyfriend is,’ he grinned and Toshiro felt a pool of nervous excitement bubbling in his stomach.

‘What video are we doing tonight?’

‘A random one, but I want to wait until it’s late and hardly anyone will be in the walmart you have here.’  

‘It’s called Asda,’ Toshiro said and Yukio waved him off picking back up his pizza and tucking back into it. It was good to see he was getting his appetite back. ‘And tomorrow night you’re coming to stay at mine and I’m going to feed you a proper home cooked meal.’ Toshiro eyed the pizza warily.

‘Oh what are we having?’

‘It’s been a while but I’ll make lasagne.’

‘Ohhh that sounds nice, I used to love eating packet lasagne when I was little, I couldn’t really work the microwave though so it would always be raw in the middle but it still tasted good cold.’ He chuckled, ‘it was heaps better than the monster munch I used to just get given daily to stop me crying.’

Toshiro had to turn away from him for a moment to hide the welling in his eyes as he bit down hard on his lip. He’d never thought much about a family because he’d suffered so much through so many deaths but then again, being loved and appreciated… there was no feeling quite like it. Maybe one day in the future if they were still together – a guy could dream – Toshiro and Yukio could work on getting a big family and they’d have a chance to fill it with so much love.

* * *

 

Toshiro hadn’t really known what to expect when they went to the supermarket later that night. Yukio took his smaller handheld camera and surprised Toshiro by not even doing his usual intro to his vlog.

‘What… should I do?’ Toshiro asked nervously wondering what to do with himself as he stood there stupidly.

‘Just go and do your shopping,’ Yukio laughed and waved him off. Toshiro was beyond confused but went and grabbed a basket and started to walk up and down the isles. He started with the vegetables, picking up onions, fresh basil, garlic, celery and tomatoes when he saw Yukio walking towards him with the camera facing him. He frowned, what the hell was he doing? He held up an orange so that it was in shot of the camera.

‘Hey Toshiro… orange you glad you’re with me?’

‘Oh my god,’ he rolled his eyes and scowled at him, ‘are you fucking serious?’

It didn’t stop there, a few minutes later while reviewing his choice of onion the blond appeared again, this time holding up a pear.

‘Hey Toshiro… we make a great pear.’

‘I am not beyond dumping your ass right now,’ Toshiro rolled his eyes and walked away from the man. Seriously, this was his brilliant idea?

‘Am I a bit too cheesy for you Toshiro?’ he turned in time to get a face full of grated cheese, thankfully it was in the packet and Toshiro caught it as it fell to the floor watching as Yukio ran away laughing hysterically. The next time Yukio found him Toshiro was already scowling before he got a chance to even approach him properly.

‘What’s wrong honey?’ he held up the jar of honey in front of the camera and Toshiro debated hitting him with it. He was worried about breaking the expensive looking camera though so he just glared at him.

‘Toshiro, that’s a lot of food,’ he said pointing the camera down into the nearly full basket. ‘There isn’t mushroom for anything else.’ A packet of mushrooms were added which Toshiro promptly removed and hit him over the head with them.

‘You’re not funny,’ he hissed and the blond just ran away giggling like a child. It took a while for Yukio to show up again after that and Toshiro was wondering if he’d been arrested for bad jokes or something, or potentially filming when he heard the distinct sound of his boyfriends approach once again.

‘Toshiro, we’re on a roll.’ He turned in time to see the packets of rolls being held up in front of the camera and scowled at him.

‘You better not turnip here again,’ Toshiro frowned pulling a turnip from his basket and holding it up causing the blond to howl with laughter. Yukio held the camera in his other hand and came around into the view of the lens and gave Toshiro a quick peck on the cheek which he was thankful for. He’d have been totally against a kiss on the lips and he felt his face heat up as he put the turnip down where he’d gotten it.

‘This is probably your lamest video ever.’ He muttered and Yukio chuckled again.

‘No way, this is adorable and you know it. That’s a wrap,’ he held up a packet of wraps in front of the camera and turned it off. ‘That won’t take long to edit. I can maybe edit it tonight before bed and we can have it go up tonight?’

‘Okay,’ Toshiro could feel himself getting nervous again and Yukio grinned at him pulling him into his side.

‘Hey relax, you’re going to be great.’ He pecked him on the lips then-

‘OH MY GOD ITS TOSHIRO!’ both boys jumped and glanced up to see two startled looking girls having a total episode in the middle of the isle.

‘I KNEW IT!’ one of them screamed at the other, they looked about 15 or 16 years old and Toshiro felt his whole face heat up. They both went for their phones and Yukio quickly sprung in front of them.

‘Whoa, hey now, we’re going to be putting up a video tonight to reveal this. I’m happy to take selfies with you but you can please leave Toshiro out of them?’ he asked.

‘Yeah, of course I’m sorry I just got all excited because-‘

‘WE WON A BET!’ the other louder girl called and they both giggled. ‘Oh my gosh Toshiro,’ she scampered forward and Toshiro felt unease and embarrassed. ‘You’re even shorter in real life,’ she chuckled and he scowled.

‘Don’t make fun of his height he hates it,’ Yukio laughed at her as he took a selfie with the first girl.

‘My names Sara,’ she said and it was like day and night. She’d gone from loud and a little obnoxious to cute in the space of a couple of minutes. ‘We’ve been huge Yukies for a long time.’ She smiled and he relaxed a little, she’d put her phone away as her friend took some pictures with Yukio. ‘We hoped it was you he’d gotten with.’

‘Thank you,’ he didn’t really know what else to say, ‘I’m glad too.’ They laughed and he rubbed the back of his head as Yukio came over and took some pictures with Sara.

‘So the video will be up tonight?’ she asked and Yukio nodded.

‘Yeah in a couple of hours, so feel free to up your bets before the video goes live.’

‘Oh that’s such a good idea,’ her eyes sparkled with mischief and she nodded her head. ‘Come on Jill,’ she pulled her friend away and the boys made a quick beeline for the checkouts.

‘That wasn’t so bad,’ Toshiro mused to himself and Yukio shook his head.

‘Fans aren’t so bad, they’re just wanting you to notice them and once you do they’re quite happy to support you. Most of them don’t want to tear you down, they’d rather be remembered in a positive light than a negative one after they’ve spoken with you.’ Toshiro considered his words for a moment before fighting with Yukio to pay for the food shopping.

‘No way, you’re inviting me around to sleep and you’re making me dinner? I’m paying,’ he was stronger so he had no problems pushing Toshiro out the way. He scowled up at him and tapped his foot impatiently.

‘You have paid for everything the last couple of days,’ he snapped.

‘Not true,’ Yukio grinned, ‘I didn’t pay for your snowboarding lesson.’

‘B-because,’ Toshiro let his teal eyes sweep the shop and he lowered his voice, ‘because you’re my boyfriend.’ He hissed at him and Yukio only grinned widely at him.

‘Exactly the reason why I’ll buy the ingredients since you’re cooking it.’

It was pointless to argue with him and Toshiro only gave up trying, accepting it as Yukio put the money into the self scan machine and then they were leaving the shop. The cold night air seemed to cut through Yukio and it made Toshiro question something, he waited until they were in the warmth of Yukios car before he asked.

‘You came here to find out about your grandparents didn’t you?’

‘Not exactly, I just knew they stayed in Edinburgh before they died. I wanted to come here and experience it.’ He shrugged his shoulders as he said it, ‘and they went to the same university too.’ That didn’t surprise Toshiro, actually he knew that the University was founded sometime in the 16th centaury and sometimes the heating system also reminded them of that.

‘Are you… looking forward to going back to California?’ he asked timidly, he was over thinking things and the thought of losing Yukio was making him feel like another panic attack was on the horizon.

‘That’s a loaded question,’ he chuckled and shook his head. ‘I miss the sun and my friends, but honestly? I’ll miss you guys more. I’m much closer to you and Ichigo than I’ve ever been to anyone else in my life. By extension I am also really close to Rukia too, Renji and Rangiku I’d like to get to know a little more.’ He was thoughtful for a while and Toshiro felt a nervous ball twist uneasily in his stomach.

‘Have you thought about moving?’ Yukio mumbled and Toshiro blinked and turned to him. ‘Moving back with me? I mean not straight away but you could come over and visit and decide?’

‘I-‘ he hadn’t thought of that being an option at all. ‘I never really thought about it.’ They pulled back up outside his apartment and they got out the car. He felt numb, he would never leave Rangiku but then again would she come if he asked her? Hollywood… he was sure she would be up for that.

‘Well it was just an idea.’ Yukio smirked at him and held out his arm for Toshiro to snuggle into his side as they walked. ‘Of course the temperature is totally different.’

‘I don’t think I’d mind the temperature as long as I got a decent air conditioning in my house and car.’ Toshiro frowned, he was built for the cold but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t be willing to try. He didn’t exactly have much of a career in mind and staying in Scotland probably wasn’t the best place for a musician to stay. He’d be better moving somewhere where movies or music was the primary focus. He didn’t just want to be a DJ his whole life.

Toshiro curled up against Yukio as he edited the video. He was surprised by how quickly he edited it and made it look seamless. Correcting colour and lighting to the best of his abilities and he even spoke Toshiro through a couple of the basics. Mostly Toshiro just liked lying against him as he did it. There had been so many times in his life he’d pictured being in this kind of scenario as the blond edited his video. Then the video was rendering and Yukio kept the laptop in his lap as it flashed up ten minutes for rendering. Toshiro grew a little impatient though and leaned up to lay a few little pecks across his jaw drawing the blonds’ attention to him.

‘Hmm, you’re really cute,’ he hummed against his lips as he wrapped an arm around Toshiros back and pulled him in for a kiss. Yukios taste was still incredible and Toshiro opened up willingly and melted against him as he let his tongue roam into his mouth. Too soon the laptop was making a noise to indicate the end of the rendering process and Yukio broke away to glace at it.

‘Want to watch the video?’ he asked and Toshiro gulped. He’d seen it getting edited but it looked even funnier once complete. He shook his head and chuckled along with all the jokes but he couldn’t help feeling a little mortified that it was him.

‘I can’t believe we’re doing this,’ he groaned and Yukio looked at him seriously.

‘Final chance, are you sure?’

‘Yes,’ he nodded his head, ‘I am.’ Yukio leaned over and kissed the side of his cheek before turning back and hit the ‘upload to youtube’ button. It was a slower process and Toshiro could feel his stomach twisting nervously as he watched blond now go and create a thumbnail image using photoshop. He had a basic template he used for all his videos and Toshiro watched him make a beautiful thumbnail in just a few short minutes.

Then the video was processing and Toshiros hands were getting sweaty. Yukio pulled Toshiro onto his lap and kept the video as unlisted then smiled down at Toshiro.

‘You want to do the honours?’ he asked and Toshiro felt his hands shaking a little as he selected the drop down from unlisted to public and clicked ‘save changes.’

He couldn’t believe how fast it happened. Yukio leaned in to kiss he side of his head and he turned to graze his lips against his boyfriends for a few moments and turned back to look at the video. Yukio had conveniently called the video;

‘Bugging my boyfriend.’

Yukio refreshed the page and Toshiro almost died, they’d literally only kissed for twenty seconds and the video already had well over 8,000 views.

‘W-WHAT!’ he felt his heart hammering.

‘Oh it gets better, watch.’ He refreshed the page again and it had jumped to over 15,000. Then again, 18,000, then again and over 22,000.

Toshiro stopped him refreshing the page again and shook his head, he felt like he was having some kind of heart attack when the blond chuckled and clicked to share it to his other social medias. Then the blonds’ phone was ringing and Yukio leaned over and picked it up.

‘Hello Ichigo,’ he chuckled as he answered.

‘So you two are official? Hey thanks for telling me before the rest of the world. I feel so hurt.’

‘You knew it was going to happen you twat,’ Yukio rolled his eyes and cuddled Toshiro into his chest so the prodigy could hear Ichigo better.

‘Yeah I did you’re right, so how’s it going? You two popped the cherry yet?’

‘The what?’ he was laughing hysterically and Toshiro groaned and tried to burry his face into his boyfriends’ jumper.

‘You know, the feather bed jig? Have you two done the deed? The horizontal mambo? The disappearing cane trick? The-‘

‘You’re totally insane,’ Yukio was laughing but he was clearly giving it away by his lack of answer.

‘You two have haven’t you?’ he laughed down the phone at him and Toshiro groaned into his boyfriends chest.

‘Make the bad strawberry go away,’ Toshiro moaned.

‘You’re upsetting my boyfriend Ichigo,’ Yukio hummed down the phone. ‘I’m afraid we will have to end things here.’

‘Alright well, don’t let me stop you from shaking the sheets, roasting the broom, bumping ugilies-‘

‘Goodbye you dick,’ Yukio hung up on him and tossed his phone to the side wrapping his other arm around Toshiro. ‘Don’t worry about anything.’ He mumbled above Toshiro but the prodigy had his eyes closed as he breathed in Yukios scent. Trying to ground himself before another wave of panic attacked him. ‘Tonight let’s just snuggle together and watch a movie. We can check comments and other stuff in the morning alright?’

He nodded his head into his chest and with ease Yukio stood up, supporting Toshiros weight effortlessly by his ass as Toshiro yelped. He quickly secured his arms around his boyfriends’ neck and his legs around his waist as he glanced down at the floor. The position was bringing back some rather fond and erotic memories as the blond carried him off towards the bedroom. He was right there was no use in worrying about anything tonight, it was best to just relax and check everything out tomorrow.


	15. Happy Ending

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An idea is raised to the group...

Waking up beside Yukio was something Toshiro wanted to experience every single morning. Even though the boy was snoring lightly, the sound was pleasant rather than annoying. He was completely encased in his arms and he tried not to stir too much in case he woke up. Soon cramp started to settle in and he had to wriggle free to move his dead arm, trying to do it without waking the blond boy was difficult and he found himself wriggling under the covers just to try and slip out. The arm that was wrapped around him just seemed to follow him though and so Toshiro found himself with his head as low as the boys abdomen under the covers and still no freedom.

‘What are you doing?’ a groggy voice called and then the covers were being lifted up and a mess of blond hair and green eyes were gazing fondly down at him.

‘I was trying to get free without waking you,’ Toshiro stuck his lower lip out cutely trying to deter the boy from the obvious jibes that were about to come.

‘You didn’t do a good job of it then did you?’

‘Your arm is persistent.’

‘Seriously? You thought wriggling down there would get you free? I thought you were meant to be some kind of genius?’ The pout on Toshiros face turned into a scowl at his words and he roughly shoved the arm off him as he attempted to act all offended at his comment. ‘Aww,’ Yukio wrapped his arms around Toshiro as he attempted to remove himself from the bed. ‘Don’t be like that baby,’ he cooed pulling Toshiro back and nuzzling into his bare side. Toshiro wanted to act all offended but he was terrible at it, crossing his arms across his chest and huffing. ‘You’re so cute.’

‘I thought we were passed that,’ Toshiro frowned, actually offended this time. His boyfriend knew he hated being called that.

‘It’s true though,’ Yukio was kissing the skin just above his hip bone and Toshiro tried to move away. The blond was much stronger than him though and kept him in place with his arms securely wrapped around his waist. ‘Did you check the comments this morning?’ he asked and Toshiro felt all colour drain from his face. He’d been so wrapped up in Yukio that he’d forgotten to check and see the Yukies reaction to the reveal.

‘I… no, I didn’t.’ Perhaps detecting the nervousness in his voice Yukio sat up and pulled Toshiros back against his chest, leaning over to pick up his phone.

‘Let’s check them together then,’ the blond kissed his shoulder as he effortlessly unlocked his phone and dove into his youtube channel to bring up the video. Toshiro held his breath as he watched the blond scroll through the top comments. Toshiro was pleased to recognise a few of the same people who had commented before.

 

**YukiShiro4Lyfe**

Akjsfhldfhaiufh!!!! I AM SO HAPPY!!!!!!!! OMFG. This is the cutest and most hilarious thing I’ve EVER seen.

_4021 likes_

**Bandana Boy**

I have never been so happy to be so wrong in my life. I thought it was Ichigo and I’m so glad it’s not.

_1119 likes_

**TooCool1998**

Awww, I was hoping it was Ichigo. WAIT! Toshiro looks like a uke… does that mean? Mind = BLOWN.

_3576 likes_

**TitanStrawberry**

(a)TooCool1998 – I always thought that Yukio was a bit too dominant. Something wasn’t right.

 

‘That’s enough of that,’ Yukio laughed putting the phone away and kissing Toshiros cheek, ‘do you feel better?’

‘Much,’ Toshiro hadn’t realised he was grinning but he was. It felt nice to be accepted and even though he was sure there would be nasty comments in there he wasn’t going to go looking for them. Though the chain of comments latched onto TooCool1998 were some he was going to go back and read when he got the chance. It had surprised him to find out Yukio wasn’t a uke, he always thought he was.

‘So it’s 11am, I’ve turned you into a bit of a lazy sleeper,’ he chuckled and Toshiro scowled shoving him away.

‘We should have been in University hours ago,’ he grumbled and he stood up.

‘Hmmm, didn’t you hear?’ Toshiro turned to the blond with a raised eyebrow.

‘Hear what?’

‘A warrant went out for your arrest, it’s illegal to look that good naked,’ the blond was grinning at him and Toshiro scoffed, heat flooding his cheeks. ‘So I think we should just stay off and hide in here.’

‘Do those cheesy lines ever work?’ Toshiro asked looking away to hide the heat in his face.

‘Yes, all the time.’

He scoffed and ignored the chuckle from his boyfriend as he collected some of his clothing and made his way in for a shower.

 

* * *

 

 

They arrived at Uni about an hour later, after Yukio was done trying to distract him and undress him while Toshiro was attempting to get dressed. He really was a nuisance sometimes. As they walked into the doors they were instantly stopped by a group of screaming girls.

‘OH MY GOSH!’

‘Go and kiss him!’

‘Can we get pictures?’

‘Will you sign this?’

‘Please kiss him!’

‘Selfie?’

They quickly pushed through the crowds and thankfully Ichigo and Renji appeared at just the right time, scaring most of the fan girls away from them. Toshiros heart was beating loudly as they quickly made their way down the corridor to the media rooms and no one spoke until they were safely behind one of the doors.

‘Are you alright?’ Yukio asked, his arms wrapping protectively around Toshiro. It took him a moment to fully comprehend what had just happened to them and he eventually sighed, turning to bury his face into Yukios chest.

‘You two took your sweet time getting here,’ Renji grunted, ‘we’ve been keeping an eye out for you for ages.’

‘Where were you yesterday?’ Rukia asked, her foot tapping impatiently on the hard surface flooring. ‘You’ve not been answering a single text.’

‘They’ve probably just been too busy having sex,’ Ichigo chuckled and Toshiro felt his entire face heat up. Thankfully he still had it buried into Yukios chest so no one else noticed.

‘Well, we were out filming a couple of videos yesterday,’ Yukio tried to respond reasonably.

‘Oh yes, you two have been quite busy,’ Ichigo chuckled, ‘didn’t you see the memes Rukia?’

‘What memes?’ it had been Rukia, Yukio and Toshiro who all asked the question at the same time. The prodigy removed his head from his boyfriends’ chest and gazed around at his strawberry friend.

‘Oh?’ Ichigo was grinning but there was something clearly terrifying in that grin of his. He threw back his head and cackled before pulling out his phone. ‘Remember that live stream Yukio?’ he asked innocently and Toshiro felt Yukio tense around him.

‘What one?’

‘Oh you know, the one that ended in a hurry?’ he said and Toshiro frowned. He clearly was referring to the one where Toshiro had bent over to tease him.

‘Ummm,’ the blond seemed unwilling to answer him as a picture was put in front of their faces. Yukio took the phone and Toshiro burst out laughing. It was a picture of Yukio gazing over the top of the camera. His mouth half open and look of complete wonder on his face. The caption over the image read; ‘Mommy he’s naked.’

‘Scroll to the left, they get better,’ Ichigo chuckled and soon the blonds thumb was swiping through a multiple of memes most of them with the same glazed look on his face. Another of them read; ‘me when I see a bacon deluxe cheeseburger’ and another; ‘damnnnnnnnn.’

‘I may have helped in circling these and helping them go viral,’ Ichigo admitted wonderfully when Yukio swiped once more to the left. By this point Rukia was at their side staring at the phone and Toshiro felt Yukio go rigid. His teal eyes came back to the screen and he was howling, clutching tightly at Yukio. Someone had actually taken a screenshot at the moment when Yukio had obviously been standing up and was attempting to measure the size of his erection that could just be seen through his tight light blue jeans.

‘6.1 inches’ it had written above it and Yukio clicked his tongue impatiently.

‘It’s 6.2 actually,’ he scowled and tossed the phone back to Ichigo who caught it smoothly with a wide grin on his face. ‘Thanks for your support.’

‘Anytime,’ Ichigo chuckled and Yukio shook his head.

‘What are we meant to be doing today anyway?’ he asked and Toshiro snorted.

‘Work?’ he said sarcastically and then Yukio drive fingers into his sides and he yelped, twisting away from the blond boy to scamper behind Ichigo.

‘Well,’ Ichigo chuckled, putting out an arm as if to defend Toshiro from his silly boyfriend. ‘Nothing major, I have one of my projects rendering in the editing suit upstairs.’

‘Good, take a seat,’ Yukio gestured to the floor and Rukia at obediently down but Ichigo and Toshiro were watching Yukio with raised brows.

‘Why?’ the strawberry asked.

‘I wanted to speak to you,’ he crossed his arms across his chest and Toshiro frowned. He wasn’t quite sure what this was about but he lowered himself to the ground at the same time as Ichigo. Renji decided to just lean against the wall as they all locked eyes onto the blond who was now pacing in front of them.

‘What are you all doing after college?’ he asked them finally after a long moment’s silence.

‘Well…’ Rukia started but they all seemed to look at each other. ‘We hadn’t really thought about it to be honest.’

‘Is there a move industry here in Scotland?’ he asked.

‘Not really,’ Renji replied shrugging against the wall, ‘I was thinking of moving down to London, there are more opportunities there.’

‘Yeah,’ Ichigo looked at the floor and he looked a little sad. ‘I’ll probably move with him because he’s right.’

‘I’m not sure if I should pursue the whole media industry or the music industry instead,’ Rukia sighed bringing a hand up to run it down her face. ‘Jesus Yukio why did you have to bring up the fact that we will soon have to _adult_?’

‘Sorry,’ he chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck. ‘Soon I’ll have to leave and move back to California.’

Toshiros heart fell to the floor and he quickly glanced down. He was sure he could feel it melting into the ground. Every time he brought it up. Then there was a comforting hand grasping his shoulder and he glanced over to see Ichigo looking at him gently.

‘Well, I wanted to ask because.’ He paused and took a deep breath, ‘I think you should all become youtubers and move to California.’

There was a beats silence at these words.

‘What?’ Ichigo asked, his grip had tightened on Toshiros shoulder.

‘There’s a _lot_ of opportunities for you all if you become big successful Youtubers and even if not you can still wriggle your way into the media world somehow over there. Start as a runner or something and work your way up? That’s how Steven Spielberg started.’

‘I was going to say, being a youtuber isn’t really my kind of gig,’ Renji said thoughtfully rubbing his chin but he looked contemplative as he gazed at Yukio. ‘But you’re right, Hollywood would offer a lot more in terms of what I want to do.’

‘Being a youtuber doesn’t mean being a vlogger Renji have you ever heard of DevinSuperTramp? You could be a cinematographer and crack into the media business by building your own portfolio of videos online that will still allow you to get paid.’ Yukio was grinning now when Toshiro looked back and him and he narrowed his teal eyes.

‘You’ve thought about this a lot.’ Toshiro pointed out, wonder why the blond hadn’t mentioned any of this to him except when he asked Toshiro to move to California.

‘Well yeah, I have,’ he chuckled and shrugged his shoulders. ‘It was actually you Tosh who gave me the idea yesterday.’ Suddenly everyone was looking at Toshiro and he just blinked dumbly at his boyfriend.

‘I did?’

‘Yeah,’ Yukio shrugged and suddenly he looked a little emotional. He swung his arms back and forward a little and played with the palm on his left hand. ‘Well, I mean, I’ve never really had a family.’ He shrugged his shoulders, ‘and yeah I’ve had friends…’ he looked at his feet now and Toshiro could feel himself grinning. ‘And Tosh said we were kind of like a family. Now that I have you all, I don’t want to lose you, call me selfish but I think I’d like to move my family to California because there’s more work there for us.’ He shrugged again still not looking at them. ‘Besides I have a big enough villa there, it’d be crammed but you’re all welcome to stay and mooch off me until you are making enough to provide for yourselves.’

Rukia was the first one to move, then Ichigo sprung to his feet and Toshiro followed quickly too. Just like they’d all done to him for his birthday, they engulfed Yukio into a massive group hug. All except one and Ichigo held out his arm for Renji to join them. The tall burly male rolled his eyes and gave an exasperated sigh but he soon walked over and joined them.

‘I am so up for this,’ Rukia exclaimed breaking away from the tight nit circle and pumping her fist into the air. ‘Sunny California here I come.’

‘Renji just think of all the runner and camera work you could get there,’ Ichigo grinned at him as they broke away and the taller males eyes glazed over.

‘Do you think they’d let me work on the Ellen Show?’

‘I think trying to keep you _away_ from the Ellen Show will be difficult,’ Ichigo grinned, ‘you guys know that Renji has the biggest crush ever on-‘ he was muffled by a large hand clamping around his mouth and it was the first time Toshiro had ever seen Renji blush. He whispered something in Ichigos ear and when he took his hand away, Ichigo was silent but grinning widely.

‘Anyway, I thought that Ichigo could join me in the vlogging world, Rukia you and Tosh could open up a duel channel where you duet and do songs together? Renji could have a channel all about cinematography.’

‘What about Rangiku?’ Toshiro asked, he felt his heart constrict, no way would he leave her behind.

‘What about me?’ he burled around to see her standing in the door way with a massive grin on her face, ‘you’re not getting rid of me.’ She chuckled a high pitch laugh and walked over to hug Toshiro. ‘Yukio already called me when you were in the shower, I’ve already contacted three agents who live in California whose numbers I got from shoots here in the UK.’

‘Seriously?’ Toshiros eyes went wide and she winked down at him.

‘You’re not leaving me behind, besides; Hollywood. Acting. Yes please.’ She threw back her head and laughed, ‘it’s about time we got out of Scotland, seriously this place is slow and dull.’

‘So you’re all going to come?’ Yukio asked grinning and Toshiro watched as every single one of them agreed. The thought of opening up a youtube channel with Rukia made it seem a lot less scary. From their conversations that day the pair decided that sometimes they could duet, other times they could post videos individually and just split the money between them.

‘If it gets to be too complicated, we can make stand alone channels too,’ Rukia smiled at him, ‘and keep the main channel for the two of us to sing together on.’

It seemed the entire of their day was spent planning and plotting what their channels were going to be. Yukio led them to the library where they signed up and made their channel names and he showed them how to set up the adsense on their accounts too so they could get paid. The buzz was real and Yukio was yapping away excitedly as he drove back the apartment.

‘Let’s just grab the ingredients,’ he instructed as they walked inside. ‘You can leave some of your stuff here,’ he grinned and Toshiro turned to him raising a questioning eyebrow. ‘I like having your stuff lying on the floor next to mine.’ He admitted, ‘it’s sexy.’

‘You know what else is sexy?’

‘Cooking naked?’

‘Doing your damn laundry,’ he scowled and realised he was picking up American words from the Californian boy.

‘Aww,’ he cooed, ‘you called it “laundry”,’ he sauntered over and Toshiro felt his arms wrapping around his waist as he pulled Toshiro into his chest.  

‘Do you want me to spit in your food?’

‘Don’t be so mean,’ he cooed in his ear sending a shiver down Toshiros spine. ‘I don’t get home cooked meals remember,’ Toshiro could feel the boy pouting against the back of his head and he sighed in defeat.

‘You’re right I’m sorry, let’s hurry up and go though.’ Once they grabbed the ingredients they headed back to Toshiros where they were greeted by an enthusiastic Rangiku.

‘Thank god you’re back,’ she sighed, ‘I have been withering away here,’ she threw an arm across her forehead. ‘I need some more of your food.’

‘Relax,’ Toshiro rolled his eyes but otherwise grinned. ‘I’m making lasagne tonight.’

‘Oh YEY!’ she threw her arms around him and pulled him into her chest where he flailed desperately in an attempt to get away.

‘Suddenly everything makes sense,’ Yukio chimed as Toshiro tore free gasping for air and was steadied by his boyfriends arms.

‘Are you going to be making roast potatoes too?’ she asked and Yukio raised a brow.

‘That’s an unusual combination,’ he muttered.

‘Once you try his roast potatoes you’ll understand why I have them with everything.’

Overall the meal took around two hours to make, he was thankful that Rangiku and Yukio mostly kept him company. Wine was poured and Toshiro was already feeling tipsy when he pulled the lasagne from the oven. They’d opened the windows to let the air circulate the hot kitchen and everyone’s stomachs were growling when they finally sat down to dinner.

The food helped dilute the alcohol in his stomach and when he and Rangiku were finished eating Yukio kept going.

‘I suddenly know who you remind me of Yuki,’ Rangiku said leaning across the table with a fine dusting of pink across her cheeks. ‘Joey from friends.’

‘You’re right,’ Toshiro stared at his boyfriend who was actually finishing off the lasagne by eating it straight from the dish it was cooked in.

‘I’m not even offended,’ Yuikio chuckled as he popped the top button of his jeans to get more food into his system. ‘Toshiros food is just too good, I can’t help myself.’ Toshiro wasn’t sure why that compliment meant so much to him but it did.

‘Just think, if you two settle down and have a family Toshiro can be the mother and you can be the breadwinner.’ She chuckled and Toshiro aimed a kick at her under the table.

‘You know I’ve actually fantasized about that,’ the blond sighed contently and Toshiro bit his lip to try and stop his face heating up anymore than it already was. ‘Having a massive family and Toshiro making me meals,’ he chuckled and winked at Toshiro. ‘Maybe even teaching me to cook so I’m not completely useless and he isn’t left to do absolutely everything.’

‘Cooking is a skill gained after one learns to do their own laundry first,’ he rolled his eyes taking a few massive gulps of wine and feeling it go straight to his head.

‘You want a big family Yukio?’ Rangiku asked leaning across the table to him as he continued to stuff his face.

‘Yeah I do, at least two kids.’

‘Yukio,’ Toshiro groaned and shot a warning glance at Rangiku.

‘Toshiros always wanted a big family too, you’re going to be so cute together. Just remember who the god mother is.’

‘Of course it’d be you,’ the blond chuckled as he finished the entire lasagne and started on the left over potatoes.

‘Just making sure you know your place. It goes without saying this but I figure you should know. You break Toshiros heart and I’ll break your face.’

‘ _Ran_ ,’ Toshiro drawled shaking his head. ‘Shouldn’t you be in bed or something?’

‘I can take a hint,’ she rose from the chair and winked at them. ‘I have some calls to make to California anyway.’ She left the boys alone and Yukio forced the last potato into his mouth.

‘Two kids?’ Toshiro smirked at him, ‘why that number?’

‘Just want a little boy and girl,’ he shrugged grinning.

‘You know you don’t get to pick the genders right?’

‘Really? I thought there was a store we could walk into and pick them up,’ he rolled his eyes but kept the grin on his face. ‘I know that, a guy can dream. Not many men want a family,’ he reached over and Toshiro felt him take his hand. He grinned and ducked his head at the gesture, thankful that the alcohol had already dusted his cheeks pink so the boy couldn’t see him blushing. ‘So I’m really lucky to have found you, besides, you’re an _amazing_ cook.’ Toshiro chuckled at the comment, running his thumb gently across his knuckles.

‘Thank you,’ he glanced up at him and Yukio grinned.

Toshiro pushed away from the table and walked around to sit on his lap which Yukio was pleased about. He was careful not to press into the boys gut though as he settled himself down, leaning down to lock lips with the boy.

‘I can taste the alcohol on your lips.’ Yukio mumbled against them after a while.

‘M’not drunk,’ Toshiro groaned into the kiss.

‘That’s good,’ Yukio mumbled against his lips, sucking his lower lip into his mouth and ravishing it. After a while Toshiro pulled back and gasped for air.

‘Stop trying to eat me,’ he groaned, ‘if you’re still hungry we have grapes.’

Yukios eyes lit up and he was rubbing small circles into Toshiros sides.

‘Grapes?’ the prodigy chuckled and he slipped off his boyfriends lap.

‘How on earth can you seriously still be hungry?’ he asked walking through to the kitchen to pick the packet of grapes up from the fridge.

‘I’m always hungry,’ he chuckled in response as Toshiro came back through.

‘Can you catch them in your mouth?’ he asked pulling one of the green fruits from its stem and holding it up.

‘Of course,’ he snorted and pushed away from the table, standing with great difficulty. His stomach was actually protruding from his trousers and where his jeans had been unbuttoned Toshiro could see the top of his boyfriends’ silk boxers. He tried not to stare as he held up the first grape and aimed.

Yukio sucked, he put it down to the fact that he was weighed down heavily by Toshiros excellent cooking. The compliment stopped the teasing long enough for Toshiro to have a turn. Getting every single grape in his mouth with ease he turned to his boyfriend with a grin, crunching down on the latest sweet addition to his mouth.

‘You’re a little show off aren’t you?’ Yukio frowned, ‘I bet you couldn’t do it drunk.’

Challenge accepted, Toshiro drunk a full glass of wine and waited until he couldn’t see straight. He moved away from the table, the edge of it catching his leg and he fell to the floor.

‘You’re plastered,’ his blond boyfriend laughed at him instead of helping him back to his feet. Toshiro quickly sprung up and dusted the imaginary dust from his sleeves before walking to the other side of the living room.

‘M’not, throw ‘em,’ he nodded to the grapes and Yukio brought one up with a grin on his face.

‘You sound even more Scottish drunk babe,’ he chuckled.

‘Dinnae ye start weh meh, ah cannae be dae’in weh ah yer pish,’ he thrust a finger up at the blond who blinked stupidly at him.

‘I’ve no idea what you just said.’

‘Good,’ Toshiro mumbled softly, ‘it wasn’t very nice,’ he cackled at Yukios forlorn expression and opened his mouth ready for the first grape to be thrown. Yukio threw like a girl. None of them were going in his mouth this time. Though one did hit his eye which was the most successful throw they’d gotten.

‘You suck,’ he snapped after the sixth one missed his mouth.

‘Right, it has nothing to do with the fact you’re drunk?’

‘No,’ Toshiro glared playfully at him and Yukio stood there happily eating the rest of the grapes.

‘How can you eat so much? Where does it go?’ Toshiro made his way – dangerously – back over to his boyfriend, stumbling as he went. Yukio put the empty packet of grapes down on the table to catch him as he stumbled into him.

‘It goes to my sex appeal,’ he chuckled and Toshiro glared up at him.

‘You’re so cheesy, it’s no wonder you were single for ages.’

‘Ouch,’ he laughed, ‘you’re mean when you’re drunk,’ he pulled him in for a cuddle regardless and Toshiro nuzzled into his chest.

‘I’m sorry,’ Toshiro sighed, ‘I love you.’

Yukio froze around him and Toshiro gulped, he hoped the blond would just take it as a playful use of the phrase but now that they were going out, he wasn’t sure if he would. Of course Toshiro was in love with him, to Yukio they’d only know each other for around 10 months but Toshiro had been in love with him for years.

‘You do?’

‘I’m drunk.’

‘But you just said you loved me,’ Toshiro felt himself being prised away from the blonds chest so that the blond could look at him. Toshiro wasn’t meeting his gaze and kept his eyes fixed on an interesting looking crack in the wall behind his head. ‘Don’t go blaming it on the alcohol.’ He sounded amused and Toshiro sighed and turned his gaze back to him. He was going to need a lot of alcohol to forget about this slip up.

‘I’m drunk,’ he repeated.

‘Awww,’ Yukio stuck his bottom lip out and Toshiros eyes were drawn to it, the inside of it was moist and glistening in the dim lighting of the room and Toshiro wanted to lap at it with his tongue. ‘Tosh you’re so mean. I think you’re stunning and adorable and I know that I’m falling in love with you.’

‘Wha?’ Toshiro tore his large teal eyes away from the glistening lip to his boyfriends’ large green eye and watched as he grinned.

‘That’s right, how could anyone not love you?’ he hummed reaching forward to pull Toshiro into his chest nuzzling his head down into his hair.

‘I’ve loved you for a long time,’ Toshiro admitted clinging to him desperately and Yukio chuckled.

‘If I knew they were hiding men like you in Scotland, I’d have come here a lot sooner to meet you.’ He was pulling Toshiro up into his arms and instinctively Toshiro wrapped his legs around the blonds’ waist. He interrupted Yukios next phrase by kissing him eagerly as the blond lead them through to Toshiros room. Dropping him onto the bed as he went to close the door, he turned around with a grin on his face.

‘Now, I’d love to ravish you tonight,’ he chuckled but a hand was holding his full stomach. ‘But I literally wouldn’t be able to move that much without throwing up.’

‘Sexy,’ Toshiro teased shaking his head, ‘that’s okay,’ he pulled his top off and started to strip down anyway. ‘We can just sleep tonight,’ he tossed his jeans onto the floor and Yukio wolf whistled at him before pulling off his own clothing. Toshiro tried not to stare at him as he crawled under the covers and was soon joined by Yukio wrapping his arms around him as he snuggled down against his chest.

‘Are you grinning?’ the blond asked as he stretched an arm over to turn off the light.

‘Yes, I’m happy.’ Toshiro didn’t really think he should have to explain why he was in a euphoric mood. ‘My boyfriend is falling in love with me, he’s _gorgeous,_ I love him, and our entire family is going to be moving to California together to have a wonderful life. Why wouldn’t I be happy?’

‘That’s a very good point,’ Yukio chuckled and Toshiro felt himself being pulled into him, breathing in his scent deeply.

‘And you’re okay for us all to mooch off you for a while?’ he asked.

‘Yes of course,’ he chuckled, ‘though I don’t think Rangiku will have too, she plans on hitting the ground running. Getting into acting.’

‘As long as she gets decent parts and not just parts to exploit her,’ Toshiro grumbled and Yukio chuckled.

‘You and I will not let that happen,’ his arms tightened around Toshiro, ‘I want to make sure my new sister is well taken care of.’ Toshiro felt his heart swell at these words and he placed a little kiss on Yukios left peck.

‘We will both take care of her,’ he mumbled.

‘I’ll take care of you all,’ he muttered after a while of silence. ‘I’ve ordered you all starter packs.’

‘What?’ Toshiro leaned back and tried to gaze up at him but it was too dark to really make anything out.

‘Yeah, I’ve ordered you each a canon camera, some SD cards, new editing laptops, adobe elements, and some basic circular lighting.’

‘You… you’re not serious?’ Toshiro couldn’t believe it, ‘that must have cost a bomb.’

‘You’ve no idea the money I’ve been making. I’ve never had a family to spend it on. Never had loads of birthdays or people to spoil at Christmas so I mostly just saved up.’ He shrugged in the darkness, ‘I’ve still got a lot left over. I was saving for a wedding, a family home and all the stuff that I’d need to be a dad.’

It was a little hard to locate his lips in the dark but after missing and getting his jaw Yukio turned and met him halfway. They made out for quite some time and Toshiro made a vow to himself; a vow to start a family with this amazing beautiful man one day.

‘We should get some sleep,’ Yukio eventually chuckled against his lips and Toshiro grinned slipping back down onto his chest before things got too heated between them.

‘You’re an amazing person Yukio, it’s no wonder the world loves you so much.’ He mumbled, ‘good night.’

‘Catch ya on the flip side,’ the blond grinned from above him and the two chuckled lightly in the darkness together before Toshiro finally fell asleep.


	16. Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bit of a time skip!

**8 Years Later…**

**3 months to go…**

He was panicking when the call came through and Toshiro flinched. He’d already lost so much in the last two years and Toshiro was worrying about him. Things had been going smoothly for them for the last 6 months but this call was unwelcome.

‘O-okay, so… yes… do… yes… I understand.’ Yukio winced and Toshiro watched his husbands eyes filling with tears. He was beside him in an instant.

‘Why is Daddy sad?’ their daughter Shurui asked. She came padding through in bare feet her eyes on Yukios face and Toshiro leaned forward to kiss his husband before walking to her side and scooping her up into his arms.

‘Daddy is just talking to someone on the phone, he’ll be okay,’ Toshiro said to the small girl.

‘Is this about my baby sister?’ she frowned up at him and Toshiro smiled and leaned in to kiss her forehead again.

‘We don’t know if it’s a baby girl yet,’ he chuckled as he took her towards her room. She wrinkled her nose.

‘It better be, boys are smelly.’ She huffed and crossed her arms across her chest. He hopped she’d think like that until she was at least 30 years old. Toshiro and Yukio had been talking about having children on the lead up to their wedding and they decided if they were going to do it that they wanted at least one of them to be the biological father. Toshiro wanted Yukio to be the biological father and Yukio wanted Toshiro to be, it had been a long discussion that extended for weeks. Eventually Yukio said they could save up two times over and pay two surrogates, one for himself and one for Toshiro that way they’d have a proper family of them both.

Toshiro had reluctantly agreed, he still thought that his genes were defective, something that had been proven right after the second miscarriage. Toshiro had argued with Yukio, it had been the first time they’d had a proper shouting argument in the 8 years since they’d gotten together. Toshiro said his genes were defective and that they should just accept the fact that they’d never have a child with them. Yukio had been heartbroken and fallen into a serious stage of depression, the first pregnancy failed after a few weeks and the second one had lasted 3 months. The women they’d paid the services for was so heartbroken she couldn’t do it again.

The twins; Shurui and Koiyu had been a lovely surprise, they’d only been expecting one and when they were trying to think of mothers, Toshiro had asked Rangiku if she would donate to their cause and she graciously accepted. Toshiro knew he was being selfish, Rangiku was like a sister to him and having a child that was half Rangiku and half Yukio had filled him with such joy. When they found out the surrogate Caitlyn they’d had recommended to them was pregnant with twins, it was a shock and also the happiest day of Toshiros life, other than his wedding day of course.

Caitlyn had been a trooper and was happy to provide them with their two beautiful children. Shurui and Koiyu were non identical for they were female and male, however they looked like they could have been. Shurui had long strawberry blond hair that fell into gorgeous ringlets around her face, framing her large emerald eyes beautifully. Koiyu was a little chubby version of Yukio, he had Rangikus strawberry blond hair but it stuck around his face in wicked spikes and he had the same emerald eyes as his sister. Both children were spoilt for Rangiku had taken up role as cool aunt and she often looked after them, helping when the boys needed time alone.

Yukio had begged Toshiro for one final try and though it was vastly draining their money someone from their youtube community had put together a patreon and funded the third chance for a child with Toshiros genes. He hadn’t been happy but Yukio was over the moon with the kind gesture. Upon hearing about their two miscarriages already Caitlyn had come back and had a meeting with them, she was still healthy enough and offered to give it a chance, stating that this would be her final time as a surrogate as she was now approaching 35 years old. She’d been a surrogate for many gay couples, helping to devote her life to helping them have children, especially celebrity gay couples that lived in California and her services weren’t cheap – of course not. She was putting serious stress on her body after all, not to mention the emotional attachment of giving away a baby you’ve carried for 9 months. Along with Caitlyn coming to their rescue so did Rukia who said she’d donate her eggs as the last two times they’d just gone with donations from a bank. Rukia had said this was why it wasn’t working and that they needed her.

So with all these factors in play… how… could it have failed? Toshiro let Shurui run around her room making him a fake cup of tea as he waited patiently.

‘Can I have it to go?’ he asked and she gave an exasperated sigh before swapping it into a different plastic cup.

‘You’re a bad customer Papa,’ she mumbled as she turned and brought him the cup and he gave her a little kiss on the cheek as a tip. To make things easier he was Papa and Yukio was Daddy. Trying to get 2 two year olds to learn the difference was hard enough so they both took equal shares in divvying up the chores. Toshiro slipped from the room and quickly made his way back downstairs to his husbands’ side.

‘They’re going to call us back once they run some tests,’ Yukio said, the tears were already spilling from his eyes. Toshiro knew better than to bring the topic up again so he went about making Yukio a cup of tea. He couldn’t understand why they needed another child, they had two beautiful healthy children already but he wouldn’t say that to his husband right now as he sat crying. Yukio’s dream was to have a tiny little Toshiro as part of their family and in a way he could understand. He was spoilt, he had a little baby Rangiku and a little baby Yukio and he loved them both very much. Yukio did too, they were his babies just as much as Toshiros but he wanted a final one to make their family complete. Having Rukia come forward made this little baby all the more precious.

Six months was far too early for their baby to be born and they both knew it. It would have a very low chance at survival and the costs of medical bills would weigh heavily on them even if they both did pump out daily videos to try and keep the money coming in. He sat the cup of tea down in front of his husband and took his hand as they waited for the doctor to call them back. They sat for a long time not saying anything as Toshiro offered his husband some time to try and calm down. Once he felt it was safe enough he decided to open up the channel of communication.

‘Should we go to the hospital to see Caityln?’

‘She doesn’t want us there until she knows for sure, she’s determined she’s going to hang on,’ Yukio sighed and rubbed away his tears.

‘What if we-‘ the phone rang and Yukio stared at it terrified. Toshiro picked it up and swiped it across, he was scared too but he was being strong for his husband.

‘Hello?’

‘Is that Mr Toshiro Hitsugaya?’

‘Yes, hello Doctor McKenzie,’ Toshiro moved away from Yukio a little.

‘I have good news Toshiro,’ the Doctors tone was elated and instantly Toshiro felt better, ‘it was Braxton Hicks.’

‘Braxton Hicks!’ Toshiro practically shouted and Yukio broke into a fresh wave to tears, throwing his head down into his arms on the counter of their kitchen work top. ‘Is Caitlyn okay?’

‘Yes we’ve given her something for the pain but she’ll be fine, we want to keep her overnight to make sure it doesn’t cause actually contractions is that alright?’

Caitlyn was covered by their medical insurance that they’d taken out and they’d both said anything she needed she would get.

‘Absolutely, please do keep her over night, tell her when she’s feeling better to call us we’d like to come and see her personally ourselves.’

They’d built up quite the relationship with the woman and they respected her greatly for what she was doing for the gay community. She was a massive LGBT supporter and her son was also gay and very proud of his mothers work. They didn’t ever want her to feel like she wasn’t part of their family.

‘I will pass that message along and I will keep you notified of any change of condition, I will speak to you later Toshiro.’

‘Bye,’ they were almost on first name basis with their Doctor now, he was a lovely man and had delivered hundreds of babies in his career. No one knew babies and foetuses like he did.

‘Babe, it’s fine, everything is okay,’ he smiled as he went over and hugged his husband.

The family were on edge right now and Yukio had been doing well the last couple of months, this would be a huge shake to his confidence but Toshiro was determined to cheer him up.

‘C’mon, we promised the Yukies and Shiros a live stream while we decorated remember?’ he rubbed his husbands back and he nodded standing up and shaking himself.

‘Yes we did, let’s not tell them about this.’ He shook his head, ‘I’ll go and pour some cold water over my head and meet you there.’

‘I’ll set up,’ he smiled to him.

The Yukies and Shiros had been amazing, they were just as involved in their family as their own children. Because they’d been helping to support their family they’d come up with the amazing idea of doing a live stream every time they went to decorate the new babies bedroom. With the twins they’d known early on that it was going to be a boy and a girl, so they’d been able to decorate the rooms in traditional pink and blue. With this baby they’d decided to not reveal the gender until birth so the room was being painted in creams and beiges. They’d been sent SO many clothing to their PO BOX. Custom made blankets, teddy bears, clothing and boots. Everything they could possibly need and they had to ask people to stop sending things because they literally had too much. The fans wanted to be involved and so the boys were picking out baby names and allowing their fans to vote on them. Though it was hard to name a baby you hadn’t met yet.

The decorating had helped to take Yukios mind off things.

 

 

* * *

 

**1 month to go…**

‘Papa?’ the small voice called and Toshiro groaned and rolled over in the bed. ‘Papa I’m scared.’

‘He’s your son,’ Toshiro hissed to Yukio who chuckled and shook his head.

‘I am not the one indulging him to keep waking up at this time.’ Yukio chuckled back at him and Toshiro sighed. He opened his eyes and glanced over at their bedroom door where a small figure stood illuminated by the light of the hallway they left on at night to ‘chase away the monsters.’

‘I’m coming,’ he slipped out of bed and stretched and made his way over to the door. He acted like this bothered him but the truth was he relished these moments, he loved being the one his son called at night and he loved getting to hug the little 2 year old back to sleep.

‘Come on Koiyu,’ he chuckled as he pulled the boy up into his arms and fixed his pyjama top. He carried him through to the kitchen. Every couple of nights Koiyu would come through and need a warm bottle to go back to sleep. Toshiro knew he should be well out of this habit by now but he couldn’t help it, he didn’t want his little baby growing up. It had broke his heart and he’d cried when Shurui had slept through her first full night. Once the bottle was made up he handed it to the toddler to hold while he carried him back to his bedroom and sat on an old rocking chair in the corner. The toddler smiled up at him and Toshiro cuddled him in against his bare chest as he took the bottle hungrily. Despite the fact that Yukio said he’d never be like that with them Toshiro just knew… that once their next child came along he’d change his mind. He cradled the tiny child in his arms, watching tenderly as his large emerald eyes started to haze over and he suckled less on the bottle.

Toshiro kept his head cradled between his arm and his chest as he held the bottle with his left hand. Sometimes the toddler would want to use his own hands to hold the bottle and other times he’d allow himself to be coddled entirely by his Papa. Tonight he was accepting the coddling. Toshiro watched as his precious son stopped suckling altogether and pulled the bottle away to sit on the dresser beside them. He took the time to trace a finger down his sons face, he had a tiny little nose that obviously came from Yukio and two plump pink lips that were entirely Rangiku. Soon the tiny human went completely limp in his arms and Toshiro snuggled him in a little longer than necessary. He ran his hands through those gorgeous strawberry spikes and smiled at how lucky he was. Koiyu was named because Toshiro just loved Yukio so much that he’d simply taken the letters of his name and muddled them up a little. He often got called Koi for short but Toshiro insisted on calling him by his full name. With a sigh Toshiro stood up and carried the little toddler over to his bed tucking him into the covers, he wasn’t sure how long he’d be able to have this chance before the boy was grown up and breaking hearts. Because he was going to be a little heartbreaker, Toshiro was sure of it.

He stood up and made his way back through to his bedroom and climbed back into bed, Yukio was already out like a light and snoring gently beside him. Toshiro didn’t mind the noise it meant that his husband was asleep which was something he hadn’t gotten much of in the first few months of this pregnancy. Toshiro glanced at his husbands phone that was perched on the bedside table close to him. He kept it on every night, it was a crappy cheap little phone they’d gotten for the hospital and for Caitlyn so that they could leave it on through the night and not be woken every 2 seconds with twitter notifications, facebook notifications etc.

The phone hadn’t made a single noise and they were coming into the home stretch, soon they’d both be fathers again and for the last time they’d decided. Three children were enough.

 

* * *

 

**5 Days to go... wait…**

‘You know, we’ve not snuggled for a while,’ he cooed in his hear. Toshiro rolled his eyes but otherwise grinned as the felt his husbands arm slink around his waist and pull him flush against his chest in bed.

‘I’m trying to watch this documentary,’ he said.

‘You said that the other night…’ his husbands hand was grazing up his bare chest and running suggestively over his nipple.

‘And you still had sex with me anyway,’ Toshiro was still trying to sound annoyed but he loved playing hard to get.

‘Well I-‘ then the sound of a phone interrupted them. They both froze and Yukio was away from his side in a heartbeat. Toshiro scrambled to his feet out of bed and turned quickly to see his husband answering the phone.

‘Hello?’ he answered and locked eyes with Toshiro. His heart was thudding in his throat. His husbands’ eyes went wide and his mouth fell open. ‘Okay, yes we’ll be right there.’ As soon as he said it Toshiro sprung into action, pulling his jeans and a pair of his husbands from the floor to toss onto the bed. He pulled his on as Yukio hung up reaching for the jeans and jumped out of bed.

‘Oh my god,’ he whispered.

‘Is everything okay?’

‘Yes, she’s in labour, she’s already dilated to 8cm,’ he yanked his jeans on backwards and fell back on the bed to fix them.

‘Oh shit, the baby will be here soon,’ Toshiro felt like his whole chest was about to explode. ‘Rangiku! Rukia!’ he ran through to the living room where they kept their phones and pulled his off the table. He called Rangiku straight away and she picked up on the 5th ring.

‘Rangiku it’s time!’

‘Just now?’ she sounded shocked but excited.

‘Yes, is Rukia there?’

‘Hold on I’m just going to get her, RUKIA!’ Toshiro pulled the phone away from his ear and put it back when he thought it was safe to hear Rukia being roused from her sleep. Toshiro looked at the clock it was just after 11pm.

‘Alright, I’ll catch you guys at the hospital alright?’ once Rangiku had agreed and promised to call Ichigo and Renji, Toshiro ran back to their room as his fully clothed husband came out.

‘I’ll get the kids you get dressed,’ he instructed and Toshiro ran back in, hand on his phone as he quickly threw a top on and socks then pulled his shoes on and managed some deodorant before he left the room.

Yukio came down the stairs with a very sleepy Koiyu in his arms and a sleepy but excited looking Shurui.

‘Is my sister coming?’ she asked with a sleepy yawn and Toshiro chuckled as he took her hand.

‘Sweetie it could be a little boy, wouldn’t you be excited with a baby brother too?’ he asked as she sighed and rolled her eyes.

‘I guess, as long as he had hair like yours Papa,’ she ran her hands through Toshiros snowy locks and he leaned in and gave her a big hug, pulling her into his arms as he did so and stood up.

‘I’ve got the bag,’ Yukio said his voice a few octaves higher than normal. The bag had been packed for the last few weeks and ready for them to take at any point. It had a change of clothes for the kids, more training nappys in case of any accidents, money and charger cables.

‘I’ve got the keys!’ Toshiro grabbed them off the counter and they were both walking outside towards the car when Toshiro grabbed Yukios arm and stopped him. ‘Hey,’ he smiled as his husbands eyes fell on him. ‘We’re having a baby.’ His eyes lit up and instantly were glazing over with warmth.

‘Yeah we are,’ he leaned forward and kissed Toshiro on the lips.

‘Ewwwwww,’ Shurui giggled, ‘don’t do that.’

‘Why not?’ Toshiro chuckled as he leaned over to kiss Shurui, ‘I kiss you all the time.’

‘Yes but I’m a baby you’re allowed to kiss me, you’re my Papa!’ she nuzzled into his neck as he opened the car door and he laughed as he leaned into put her into her car seat.

‘Well I love your Daddy and to show him that I kiss him,’ he kissed her forehead and strapped her in as he slipped into the passenger seat. The drive to the hospital felt like a lifetime and though Shurui was awake the entire way singing her own little song in the back of the car as Koiyu slept soundly only snoring a little.

‘He gets that from you,’ Toshiro smirked down at his phone as he sent out a tweet. Yukio had given him his phone too to tweet from so that all their followers would be aware of what was happening. Instantly the tweets started flooding in and people from all over the world were freaking out.

‘What’s everyone saying?’ Yukio asked grinning but otherwise kept his eyes on the road.

‘Baby names it seems,’ Toshiro chuckled, ‘and people just congratulating us, asking for pictures and updates,’ he smiled as he locked the phones and looked up as they turned a corner just a few streets away from the hospital.

‘Daddy can I hold the baby when he’s here?’ Shurui asked excitedly bobbing up and down in her seat as Toshiro glanced over his shoulder towards her.

‘Of course you can sweetie,’ Yukio reasoned.

‘What happened to it being a baby sister?’ Toshiro asked, now rather amused.

‘Well I like the thought of a baby brother now because I can teach him not to be smelly like other boys.’

‘That’s right, other boys are smelly and let me tell you, they’ll be smelly right up until you’re 30.’

‘Okay Papa,’ she chimed as she looked out the window again.

Toshiro and Yukio chattered away about baby names until they pulled into the hospital parking lot. Toshiro opened the door and pulled Koiyu up into his arms as Shurui bounded beside them in her white bunny pyjamas and her shoes.

‘Daddy will the baby be really small? Because Papa is small?’

‘There’s a good chance she or he might,’ Yukio chuckled and Toshiro scowled. Hugging his son closer to his chest to comfort himself, ‘I’m not small.’ He hissed back at them.

‘No you’re just vertically challenged,’ Yukio chuckled. Toshiro stormed off into the hospital ahead of them. Because Ichigo and Renji lived right by the hospital they were the first people the boys saw as they walked into the delivery ward.

‘Uncle Renji! Uncle Ichi!’ Shurui called running to them and being scooped up by Ichigo to snuggled her in. Toshiro was surprised Ichigo wasn’t a father yet, he was born to be one and he knew that Renji was scared of having a child because of the commitment but he seemed to be coming around. Renji had gotten really good with Shurui and Koiyu over the last couple of years and now it seemed to be only a matter of time for the two boys. Yukio and Ichigo were still amazing friends and often Ichigo complained that he wanted a child but he wouldn’t push Renji until he was ready.

‘Hey, are you two alright?’ Renji asked looking almost nervous for them.

‘Are you kidding, I’m terrified,’ Yukio chuckled, ‘but excited, we’ve been waiting years for this,’ Yukio replied. Toshiro hugged Koiyu into his chest as they glanced around, the unit was empty but a passing nurse caught sight of them and Yukio went over to speak with her as Toshiro heard another door open. He turned and saw Rukia and Rangiku bounding into the ward. They’d both clearly dressed in a rush and Rangikus hair was still wet from a shower as she grinned at them.

‘Aunty Ran! Aunty Rukia!’ Shurui called grinning over to them, ‘our whole family is here now.’ She giggled and Toshiro smiled as Yukio came back over.

‘She’s gone in to delivery twenty minutes ago,’ he said, his voice carrying an air of disbelief.

‘Already?’ Toshiro asked rather shocked.

‘Yeah apparently if you’ve had a lot of kids before they can come faster because your body is used to it,’ he ran a hand through his hair and held out his arms for Koiyu. He needed something to take his mind of things. Toshiro handed the sleeping boy over who didn’t stir at all during the process and lay limp in his father arms, his head resting against his shoulder and his arms hanging at his sides.

‘We probably won’t be waiting long then,’ Toshiro sighed running a hand through his own hair, a habit he picked up from his husband.

‘You’ll want to stay here though until you can see the baby and it might still be a while yet,’ Ichigo said, ‘why don’t we take the kids back to ours? They can sleep there and you won’t have to worry about them.’

‘It’s a good idea,’ Yukio said nodding his head. ‘It’s not fair to keep them in the hospital with us because it could be a few hours.’

‘You trust us with your kids for that long?’ Renji looked sceptical and Toshiro smirked at the giant crimson man.

‘We trust _Ichigo_ with our kids for that long,’ he chuckled and Renji just pulled a face at them.

‘Yeah, Renji, consider it practice,’ Yukio smirked at him and he scowled.

‘Where’d Rukia go?’ Toshiro asked whipping around to realise the small girl wasn’t there anymore.

‘Away to get coffees from the machine down the hall,’ Rangiku smiled.

‘Here,’ Toshiro took the bag from Yukio and pulled their charger cables out and put them in their pocket along with the money before handing the bag over. ‘This has a change of clothes, two packets of cheetos, some nappys and baby wipes.’ Renji took the bag and looked at it like Toshiro had simply handed him a dead baby.

‘Thanks,’ Ichigo chuckled as Renji hoisted the bag onto his back.

‘Papa can’t we stay?’ Shurui asked looking a bit forlorn.

‘No sweetie, you need your sleep.’ Toshiro walked around the side of Ichigo and took her hand in his, giving it a little comforting wiggle. She smiled down at the joined hands and nodded her head looking over at her sleeping brother who was still out cold in her fathers arms.

‘Okay Papa, but I am not sleepy because I am excited,’ she said, her body betraying her with a large yawn which she ignored. The adults all laughed at her and she looked around like she hadn’t realised what was so funny.

‘Alright then,’ Ichigo gave her a big hug and bent to put her down. ‘Since you’re so excited can you walk beside uncle Renji and take his hand? I’ll carry your brother.’ Ichigo held out his hands but Yukio seemed reluctant to hand the sleeping child over.

‘Come on Yukio,’ Toshiro smirked at him, ‘you’ll have another one to snuggle soon.’ His husbands’ eyes lit up for a moment as he handed Koiyu over to Ichigo. The boy didn’t stir at all but his mouth did open and he began snoring lightly.

‘If you need us at all, just call us.’ Toshiro smiled at Ichigo who rolled his eyes.

‘They’ll be fine, they can sleep in the bed between us,’ he said it with a smirk and Renji looked like he’d just offered to bring an eel into their bed.

‘Alright,’ Toshiro laughed as the two boys walked away. Even though it was Ichigo and Renji it still hurt to see their children going away. Toshiro watched them and waved to Shurui when she turned around at the end of the hall before they went through the door.

Rangiku had already made herself at home and sat down in one of the more comfortable looking seats as she sat reading one of the trashy magazines. Toshiro knew that Yukio wouldn’t sit down so he went to join his friend as Rukia came back in carrying a tray and several coffees on it.

‘Where did you get the tray?’ Toshiro asked with mild surprise and she just grinned mischievously at him.

‘May have stolen it from a sleeping patients room.’ She muttered and Toshiro sighed.

‘I really hope our child doesn’t take that after you,’ he shook his head and Rukia rolled her eyes.

‘Why? It’d make them much more fun.’

‘Hey! I’m fun,’ Toshiro frowned and glanced at Yukio. Surely his husband would stand up for him? ‘Right babe?’

‘Ehhh… you’re a bit of a goodie goodie Tosh,’ he smirked back down at him as he paced around. Stopping for a moment to join in with the banter as Toshiro scoffed.

‘No blowjobs for you for a week.’ He narrowed his eyes and Yukio only smirked wider.

‘Don’t think we’ll have that much time anyway, not with a new baby.’ His blond husband replied and Toshiro paused to consider this, tilting his head to the side and smiling. It was true, when the twins had come along they hadn’t gotten any sleep for months and months. They were taking naps with the twins during the day when they went to sleep just so they could squeeze in an extra couple of hours. It was a good thing their jobs were flexible that way.

‘I’m really happy for you two,’ Rukia smirked at them, ‘and glad I could help in some small way.’

‘I think you were right Rukia, your DNA combined with the amazing force of life that is Caitlyn has definitely helped us.’ Yukio walked over and before she knew what was happening Rukia had been picked up and squeezed into a massive hug. Toshiro laughed as he sat forward and took his cup of tea drinking it quickly and feeling the caffeine help ease his nerves and exhaustion.

It felt like hours were passing slowly, Rukia had pushed two chairs together and was attempting to sleep on them. Rangiku had moved from one trashy magazine to another and would gasp and read out useless things about celebrities that neither he nor his husband really cared about. Yukio was wearing a round circle slowly into the floor as he continued his pacing and Toshiro had pulled his phone back out answering and responding to tweets.

‘What are the favourite names on the poll?’ Yukio asked after about 40 more minutes of pacing.

‘Well,’ Toshiro came out and went to their facebook page where they were hosting the poll from. They were allowing people to add names and vote up and vote down, they had agreed to take the top ten names and decide between them what name would suit. There was one for girls names and one for boys and they planned on taking the top five from each. ‘Girls are; Himari, Akari, Sana, Kanna and Yui which I really like.’ He grinned and glance up at Yukio who shook his head.

‘No, not another name close to mine, I veto Yui if it’s a girl but I really like Akari,’ he was thoughtful for a while. ‘Why did they pick that one?’ Toshiro glanced down and read through the comments.

‘It comes from the words of “red” and “cold” he tilted his head curiously to the side and Yukio made a thoughtful face.

‘And the male names?’ he asked and Toshiro jumped back to the facebook page to check them.

‘Are; Itsuki, Sora, Tensai, Kaito and Riku,’ none of these names were really standing out to Toshiro but Yukio seemed pleased with them. He walked over and opened his mouth to speak when they heard a very familiar voice calling them from down the hall.

‘Mr and Mr Hitsugaya,’ they both turned and Toshiro grinned euphorically as the handsome doctor made his way over to them. He looked like he hadn’t had a chance to shave in a while and the two boys knew that the man was pretty much married to his job so his rugged appearance never concerned them.

‘Call us Toshiro and Yukio,’ Toshiro said for umpteenth time. He simply grinned at them.

‘Good news, a healthy baby was delivered at 4.5lbs today at 2:15 am,’ he continued to grin at them.

‘And the gender?’ Yukio asked his eyes alight and shining once again.

‘Will be revealed to you when you meet them,’ Doctor McKenzie smirked at him and checked a chart in his hand. Toshiro was a little worried about the weight, when the twins had been born they’d both been over 5.5lbs and they were twins.

‘The babies weight…’ Toshiro started and the Doctor held up his hand to stop him.

‘Please don’t worry Toshiro, I have both you and Rukia’s medical information and I’ve reviewed it, you were born at 4.8lbs and she was born at 4.6lbs so the childs weight does not concern us.’ He smiled, ‘besides we’ve done all our tests. Caitlyn is resting just now, but she’ll see you when she wakes up. The nurses have taken the baby away to clean the baby up and double check everything is alright then you can go and meet the baby.’ He was grinning, he was being very careful with how he was wording things, so as to not slip up and let a gender out.

‘Alright,’ Yukio was bobbing nervously on the balls of his feet. ‘Can’t you even just give us a little clue?’ Yukio asked.

‘If I give you a clue I’d be as well telling you the gender,’ the Doctor rolled his eyes playfully and closed over his file. ‘Anyway I am going to go and have a cup of tea, if you need me you know where my office is.’ He smiled at them and gave a little wave to Rukia and Rangiku before making his way down the hall.

‘Okay bets, it’s going to be a boy,’ Rukia smirked and Rangiku rolled her eyes.

‘I say a girl, what do you two think?’ Rangiku turned to them.

‘I don’t care, as long as it’s healthy,’ Yukio was smiling and Toshiro shrugged his shoulders. He didn’t voice it but now wanted a little girl so he could name her Yui.

‘Okay well I’m sure you’ll be telling us when we can meet her,’ Rangiku smirked at Rukia who stuck out her tongue. ‘So I’m going to go to the 24/7 wallmart and get some food, want anything?’ Toshiro and Yukio gave their order and Rukia went off with her the two speaking heatedly about the gender.

‘Oh and don’t you _dare_ tweet out the babies gender before we get to meet them first,’ Rukia frowned over her shoulder.

‘Wouldn’t dream of it,’ Toshiro smirked but he did tweet out that the baby had been delivered and the weight and that they were waiting to meet it.

‘Okay I say we hold off on picking our favourite name until we meet the baby.’ Yukio smirked and Toshiro agreed. It was only around twenty minutes later that Doctor McKenzie was walking back down towards them.

‘You’ll need to go and save your baby,’ he rolled his eyes dramatically, ‘apparently it’s too cute none of the nurses want to put it down. They’re in the Nursery.’ He pointed them down the hall.

‘See when Rangiku and Rukia come back would you tell them to meet us in the Nursery waiting room?’ Toshiro asked and he nodded at them then shooed them off to go and ‘save’ their child. The two fathers walked briskly… okay so they ran through the empty lobby and towards the Nursery. Toshiro felt giddy, excited he hadn’t felt like this since the twins were born and he knew his husband was feeling it ten times over after all the loses they’d suffered through now. He made a mental note to visit Caitlyn as soon as he could as well and take her a big bouquet of flowers. They slowed their pace when they got to the Nursery and pressed the intercom button that was there for security. A member of staff came towards the door grinning through the glass towards them and they waved. They recognised her, she was called Rachel and she worked very closely with Dr McKenzie.

‘Hello you two, come on in.’ She was whispering but smiling like a maniac, ‘follow me.’ She gave a little nod of her head once Yukio had ensured that the door was fully closed. They followed her through the hallway, they could hear the sound of some babies crying throughout the ward but they still kept their voices down as they spoke.

‘What gender is-‘

‘I’ve been given strict instructions not to say until you meet them,’ she grinned back at them and Toshiro chuckled. Yukio was just desperate to know as they made their way into a room where three nurses were crowded around one of the see through plastic containers that held a small body. The three women nurses were all talking excitedly and one of them had her hand inside the plastic cot. They looked up when the boys walked in and they took a step back almost reluctantly.

‘He’s gorgeous,’ one of them sighed dramatically and Rachel chased them off.

‘ _He!’_ Yukio hissed at him, his hand gripping Toshiros arm with such force he was sure he was going bruise and they quickly made their way over. When they both glanced down, Toshiro took in a sharp breath and he heard Yukio do the same.

A new born baby shouldn’t be this aware. Yet there he was laying in the blankets almost _glaring_ at them with wide teal eyes. As if wondering where the hell they’d been.

‘Can I pick him up?’ Yukio asked as Rachel walked back towards them.

‘Of course you can,’ she smiled and Yukio reached down to scoop the baby up into arms.

Toshiro had never seen this look on Yukios face before, it was very close to the look he’d given Toshiro when they were saying their vows on their wedding day. Perhaps it was the same look that Toshiro had on his face the day the twins were born. It was eager, greedy, loving, and possessive; it was everything a new fathers’ face should be. Toshiro relished in it as he glanced back at their son in his husbands arms.

‘He’s perfect,’ Yukio hissed, turning to give Toshiro a quick kiss on the lips. It was fleeting before they broke apart to gaze at the newest member of their family. He was watching them intently as if wondering what they’d just done when Yukio swooped down and gave him a kiss on his forehead then on his nose then his cheek. When Toshiros blond husband pulled away the baby was scowling again and Toshiro laughed.

‘He doesn’t like that,’ he chuckled.

‘He better get used to it,’ Yukio smirked, not the least bit bothered. Yukio reached up to slip the top of the sheet down off his head and they were both greeted the sight of hair so fair it was most certainly going to be white. Toshiro sighed, he’d hoped at least some of the child would take on Rukias more usual aspects instead of his unusual ones.

‘Have you picked a name yet?’ Rachel was grinning at them, ‘you can register him before you leave tonight.’

‘We can take him home so soon?’ Toshiro asked, a little shocked but excited. It had been a few days before they’d been able to take the twins home. Then again Koiyu had been born with some minor lung problems, the doctors said he’d likely need an inhaler when he was older.

‘Yes,’ she nodded, ‘he’s perfectly healthy. He sat completely still during all our checks and he only cried a little bit when we did his blood test.’ She was practically cooing herself as she stared at him. ‘Other than this he’s good to go.’

‘Alright thank you,’ Toshiro smiled and watched Yukio cuddling the bundle of blankets in.

‘We’ve put a newborn nappy on him, but he’s only got the blanket and that’s it you might need to change him before you leave.’

‘We expected to be here a couple of days so we didn’t bring anything,’ Yukio said and Toshiro shook his head.

‘Don’t worry I can nip back and pick stuff-‘

‘Oh you can borrow that blanket if you want and just return it in the next couple of days,’ Rachel waved them off. ‘It’s no bother at all.’

‘Thanks Rachel,’ Toshiro grinned and she walked away to give the new family time alone.

‘I wonder if he’s slept at all. It doesn’t look or sound like it.’ Toshiro frowned and glanced at Yukio who wouldn’t look at him at all. Their son made a little noise at the back of his throat and closed his large teal eyes over. Both Toshiro and Yukio froze.

‘That’s a coincidence.’ Toshiro said straight away.

‘No it’s not, our sons a genius.’ Yukio hissed turning to him and snuggling his head down towards the newborns face.

‘Have we picked a name yet?’ Toshiro rolled his eyes and copied Rachels question as he pulled out his phone.

‘I really liked the one beginning with T, it reminded me of yours what was it again?’ Yukio asked glancing down at Toshiros screen.

‘Tensai?’ Toshiro asked.

‘Yeah what does it mean?’ he asked and Toshiro sighed when he brought up the explanation. Hearing Yukio almost squeal in excitement behind him, he quickly hushed his husband.

‘Prodigy? Oh my, that’s it I want that name.’ Yukio grinned and Toshiro succumbed to his large green puppy eyes.

‘Since I got to name the twins,’ he sighed in defeat, ‘I will let you pick that name.’

‘Little Tensai Hitsugaya,’ Yukio smirked, ‘our little prodigy.’ His eyes were shining again, ‘our family is complete.’

‘Yeah it is,’ they both watched their new son sleep in Yukios arms and Toshiro began to wonder if he’d ever get a chance to hold him.

‘Can I hold him now?’

‘He just went to sleep.’ Yukio pouted and Toshiro rolled his eyes, ‘I won’t wake him. I’m not an elephant.’

‘Alright,’ Yukio reluctantly handed the child over and Toshiro took him into his arms. He weighed nothing and slept soundly. His mouth falling open slightly and his pale pink lips standing out in stark contrast to his pale skin, he had thick black eyelashes.

Soon one of the nurses approached them to tell them that Rangiku and Rukia were waiting outside. They asked if they could take the baby and the nurses agreed.

‘Just make sure you register him before you leave,’ Rachel said and Toshiro nodded. They walked outside with the newborn in Toshiros arms and Rukia and Rangiku hissed excitedly as they made their way over.

‘Well?’ Rukia asked.

‘A boy,’ Yukio grinned and both girls squealed and started talking in excited voices. Toshiro felt the baby stir in his arms and soon his large teal eyes were opening and they just squealed even more.

‘He’s so fucking gorgeous,’ Rangiku hissed and Toshiro frowned at her.

‘Don’t swear in front of him,’ Toshiro reprimanded her and she rolled her eyes.

‘He doesn’t know what I’m saying.’

‘Don’t be so sure,’ Yukio laughed and they glanced down to see Tensai glaring at them.

‘Okay maybe he does,’ they all had a chuckle and Tensai was passed from arms to arms as they spoke. He started to get a little upset and made noises of impatience at the back of his throat. Yukio took him back into his arms and the boy fell back asleep once they all lowered their voices.

‘So you guys are taking him home right now?’ Rangiku asked and they both nodded.

‘Yup, we’ll have Renji and Ichigo bring the twins over in the morning when they wake up.’

The girls walked them to the reception desk where they filled out the necessary paperwork to register the newest family member then they took a picture to show the world and within the time it took them to drive back home the image had been retweeted over 80,000 times. The name was heavily praised and everyone had welcomed the baby into their wider family as if he were their own son.

 

**18 months later…**

‘NO DADDY!’ Toshiro glanced up towards the living room door where he could hear the distinct sound of tiny bare feet padding against the floor and before he knew it his youngest son had come running into the living room heading straight for the couch. His large teal eyes wide with fright and his hair in messy white spikes.

‘You need to put your pants on,’ Yukio laughed chasing him into the living room as Tensai climbed onto the couch on his belly before turning around to face his father.

‘No I don’t,’ he giggled as Yukio came towards him holding out a pair of blue pants.

‘Do you want me to put a diaper on you instead?’ he asked and Tensai shook his head, he stood up, his back leaning against the back of the couch as he ran across it towards Toshiro. He was wearing one of his baby vests that was unbuttoned at the bottom dangling down over his bare bum and chubby thighs.

‘Papa save me,’ he chuckled as Yukio made a dramatic lunge for him and pretended to miss. Toshiro caught the baby as he ran into him and put a hand up to Yukio.

‘Now why would Daddy want you to wear pants?’

‘Because no one wants to see his bum,’ Yukio made a face at him and Tensai pouted.

‘But you say you love Papas bum, I’ve heard you at night-‘

‘And the pants are going on.’ Toshiro laughed, feeling his face heat up as he lifted the toddler up and held him for Yukio who laughed hysterically before taking the squirming lad from Toshiros arms.

‘No Papa! You betwade me,’ he called desperately.

‘Tensai you’re 18 months old, you shouldn’t know the word betrayed let alone be able to use it in a sentence.’ Toshiro sighed, he sometimes worried that his son would turn out too much like himself. Everyday there was more and more evidence for it and Yukio kissed his head, his eyes flashing as if to scold him. They’d spoken about this a lot and just because Toshiro had struggled to make friends did not mean he should assume it would be the same for their son. Yukio had reminded him several times that Tensai was growing up with siblings that would teach him social skills that Toshiro never got to learn and true enough Tensai was a lot more open and friendly than he had been as a child.

‘No more kisses,’ he scowled at Yukio leaned in to try and kiss him. His lips were met with a sweaty baby foot that stopped him but Yukio just pretended to gobble the foot up causing Tensai to squirm and giggle. He was already potty trained, meanwhile Koiyu was still having accidents.

‘Time for bed,’ Yukio laughed once he wrestled the pants onto the boy he threw him up into the air and caught him while he cackled madly. ‘Say goodnight to Papa,’ Yukio laughed bringing him around like an aeroplane so Toshiro could lean forward and kiss his head.

‘Goodnight Papa,’ he giggled and then Koiyu was coming into the room.

‘Papa are you going to tuck me in?’ he asked sheepishly and Toshiro smiled at him.

‘Of course I am son, I’ll be right there.’

‘Not if me and Tensai get you first,’ Yukio laughed as the baby prodigy giggled and Koiyu quickly scampered from the room being chased down by his baby brother and his dad.  

 

* * *

 

**34 months later…**

After Tensai was born Toshiro thought he’d never ever see his husband cry again. He was wrong.

‘I am excited Daddy,’ he called excitedly as they pulled up outside the massive building. The windows looked inviting, there were large apples and bunnies and flowers painted in the windows and Tensai was squirming as he was pulled from the car by Yukio.

‘Does he have to go just now?’ Yukio hissed in Toshiros ear. ‘He can go next year?’

‘We’ve been over this,’ Toshiro sighed a little exasperated. ‘The earlier he comes into contact with other children the better his chances will be to _not_ grow up alone like me.’ Yukio couldn’t dispute his logic but it was breaking Toshiros heart to see the blond looking so sad.

‘I wanna carry it Papa,’ Tensai held up a chubby hand for his backpack and Toshiro slid it onto his back. He technically didn’t need one, but he’d wanted it and Yukio just bent at the knees for anything he wanted.

‘Now Tensai are you sure you’re ready?’

‘Yes Daddy,’ he rolled his large teal eyes, ‘I will be fine.’

They made their way up to the nursery and opened the front doors. A lovely woman with long curly hair greeted them enthusiastically.

‘Hello there, you must be Mr and Mr Histugaya and this must be Tensai,’ she cooed, melting like everyone else when she saw him. ‘I’m Tracey.’

‘Hello Tracey,’ Toshiro smiled warmly shaking her hand before she turned to Yukio.

‘Alright Tensai you be good,’ Toshiro said giving the tiny prodigy a high five.

Yukio bent down to his knees and held out his arms and Tensai – reluctantly – walked into the embrace knowing full well how affectionate his dad could be. Yukio nuzzled him in as he squirmed to get free and turned his head for a kiss but Tensai tried to push him away and squirmed from his grip. Yukio let him go, looking so heartbroken it literally hurt Toshiro.

‘I love you,’ Yukio called to him and Tensai scowled a little.

‘I know,’ he mumbled back and Tracey lowered herself down to his eye level.

‘Hello Tensai, I’m Tracey,’ she smiled and he grinned at her. ‘Are you not going to tell your Dad that you love him?’

‘He knows I do,’ he shrugged his tiny shoulders.

‘You know Tensai, I’ve been doing my job… for a lot of years,’ she smiled pleasantly at him, casually lifting the bag that had fallen from his shoulders. ‘And I’ve seen some boys and girls come in here whose mother and fathers didn’t love them.’

‘They didn’t?’ Tensai’s eyes went wide and he frowned.

‘No, they didn’t, sometimes they’d get left here alone because they didn’t.’ She sighed and Tensai’s large eyes started shining with tears. He quickly turned back around to Yukio and threw himself at him.

‘I’m sorry Daddy,’ he cried into his arms, and Yukio hugged him tightly with a soft smile. ‘I do love you Daddy, I just don’t love it when you kiss me all the time.’ He called into his arms.

‘I love you too Tensai, more than you’ll ever know.’ He sighed into his sons shoulder and the two stayed like that for a while before they broke apart.

‘One kiss,’ Tensai said, frowning a little, ‘only on the head.’ Yukio grinned at him and did that, letting his lips linger a little on his forehead before pulling back. Tensai quickly scampered back over to Tracey.

‘What a good boy you are,’ she smiled at him, ‘don’t you feel better?’

‘Yes,’ he nodded his head.

‘You ready to get some learning done?’ she asked and he smirked at her.

‘I already know the entire alphabet and I can write my name neater than my Daddy can.’ He crossed his little arms across his chest and Tracey laughed at him.

‘Alright then, can you help me teach everyone else?’

‘Yes,’ he smiled broadly, ‘I help my brother with his kindergarten home work all the time.’

‘Alright then,’ she let him run inside and turned back towards them. ‘He’ll do well, you’ve done a really good job raising him. Are you okay?’ she asked and Toshiro turned to see Yukio literally crying.

‘We’re fine,’ Toshiro bit his bottom lip to stop himself from laughing.

‘First time separation can be hard a lot of the parents go through it, he’ll only be here a couple of hours and then he’ll be back with you.’ She smiled reassuringly at Yukio and moved away to greet more parents who were arriving. Toshiro quickly led his husband away from the scene and once the fresh air hit him he was positively wailing.

‘Relax Yukio,’ Toshiro chuckled rubbing his back as they walked back towards the car. ‘He’s going to be fine.’

‘N-No he isn’t b-because,’ Yukio tried to take a deep breath to steady himself. ‘Because he’s growing up.’

‘They all are,’ Toshiro pointed out as they sat in the front seats. Yukio rolled down a window to allow the air to circulate a little. ‘They’re going to grow up and get boyfriends and girlfriends, they’re going to get jobs and go through heartbreak and have kids of their own.’ He was tracing Yukios arm with his finger tips. ‘All we can do is be there for them if they need us and try and provide for them the best we can.’

‘You’re right,’ he sighed after a while. ‘As much as it pains me to admit it.’ Yukio was suffering through the same emotions Toshiro felt when he’d dropped the twins off at school but unlike Tensai, Koiyu still loved a good cuddle and Toshiro relished in it.

 

* * *

 

 

**35 months later…**

‘We watched that one already,’ Toshiro chuckled as Yukio lazily flicked through the movies available on the television.

‘We could watch it again?’ Yukio chuckled, ‘it has Chris Evans in it.’ Toshiro turned to open his mouth when they heard something. They both stopped dead. It was night time and the kids had gone to bed hours ago. Soon their room door was cracking open and the muffled sound of their son crying caught their attention.

‘Daddy?’ the small voice cried. It was Tensai and he _never_ cried. ‘Daddy I had an accident,’ he hiccupped and Toshiro instantly turned on the light as Yukio got up. He walked over to the small boy whose pyjama bottoms were damp at the front and he was rubbing his eyes as he cried into his hands.

‘Oh no,’ Toshiro muttered as he sat up. Yukio pulled the small boy into his arms, not caring that he was wet.

‘That’s okay Tensai, let’s go and get you cleaned up.’ He looked at Toshiro as he left the room. Toshiro sighed, he thought that Tensai seemed a little out of it that day. It wasn’t uncommon for children to pick up all kinds of colds and other viruses from coming into contact with other children. Toshiro walked through to the kitchen and put some hot water into a bottle for him. Tensai never wanted to cuddle or want to be coddled in anyway except when he was ill. When he had been a baby and when he was teething he _always_ sought out Yukios warm embrace. When he was being sick it was always his Daddy he wanted. Toshiro didn’t take offence to it, Yukio was just much better at that stuff than he was. Besides Koiyu still called after him and Yukio never took offence to that.

When Toshiro made his way up the stairs he opened the bathroom door and saw his husband sitting in the bathtub with Tensai curdled up against him. The shower was on running some hot water and they had both discarded their clothing onto the floor. Toshiro put the bottle on the side of the bath and reached forward to place his hand against his sons’ forehead. It was dewy with sweat.

‘It’s likely a cold he’s picked up from school,’ Toshiro sighed as he handed Yukio the bottle. Tensai took it a little reluctantly and sipped gently at it as he curled up against Yukios chest. Toshiro brought the shower head down and helped direct the water to try and clean his son up, cheering him up by firing some of it directly at Yukios face.

‘Make yourself useful,’ Yukio spluttered after bringing a hand up to protect himself, ‘and go get us some towels.’

‘What do you think Tensai? Should we just leave him to walk around the house wet and naked while I get _you_ a towel?’ Toshiro asked and chuckled as his son glared at him.

‘No Papa, that’s mean,’ he sighed nuzzling further into Yukio.

‘Gods, he must be ill,’ Toshiro chuckled standing up and scooping the clothes on the floor up to put into the wash. He walked through to Tensais room and stripped the bed of the covers. Because Koiyu had accidents often they kept the same waterproof on all the children’s beds so that their oldest son didn’t feel singled out. It came in handy to protect the mattresses when the kids were sick too, though Toshiro was sure that Tensai would likely be spending the night in their bed since they had an en suit. Toshiro walked over to his dresser and pulled out a fresh pair of pants and pyjamas. Tensai had always hated wearing a nappy so it would be cruel to put one on him if he didn’t want it. Toshiro didn’t really care if he wet their bed, they needed a new mattress anyway. He made his way out and pulled two fluffy warm towels out the cupboard.

‘Papa what’s going on?’ it was a very sleepy looking Shurui.

‘Your little brother isn’t very well,’ he frowned at her. ‘It’s okay though sweetie, you go back to bed.’

‘I can cheer him up,’ she suddenly looked wide awake and Toshiro sighed. ‘Alright then,’ he took her hand and they walked into the bathroom together. She was still young enough to not fully understand the male anatomy but to minimize exposure to the scene Yukio was quickly handed a towel as he stood up with Tensai in his arms. Toshiro took the small boy into the other towel as Yukio covered himself up and stepped out the bath.

‘Tensai are you okay?’ Shurui asked, as Toshiro dried him off in the bathroom.

‘No,’ he mumbled and she frowned.

‘Watch this,’ she walked back out the bathroom door and proceeded to put on a little show for him by sticking her head only around the corner and pretending that her hand wasn’t attached to her body as it did stuff to her face. Tensai was mesmerised and was soon giggling at his big sisters antics as he held onto Toshiros shoulder for support. He lifted one leg obediently to step into his pants as Toshiro went about dressing him, grinning and chuckling along as Shurui put on the most interesting little display. His daughter was hilariously funny and very quick minded.

He recalled the time that he’d been having really bad allergies and had went to get medicine and Tensai and Shurui were sitting at the table. She’d asked why Tensai and Toshiro both had allergies but she didn’t and Tensai had stated that only smart people got allergies to which Shurui had turned and told Toshiro that he had a cold instead.

His sons giggles were precious in his ear as Shurui went about dying dramatically on the floor outside the bathroom.

‘Isn’t your sister silly?’ Yukio chuckled as he walked out to pretend to check she was still alive. That’s when another small body joined them.

‘What’s going on?’ Koiyu yawned, his strawberry blond hair covering his face completely as he pushed it back so he could see.

‘I’m trying to cheer Tensai up, he’s not feeling well.’ She said and Yukio pretended to cheer that she was alive.

‘The entire family is awake now,’ Toshiro chuckled as he pulled Tensai into his arms. Now that his son was clean and dry he seemed to have perked up a little but Toshiro could see his nose glistening and figured he was right in his deductions. It was likely a cold that was hanging over him.

‘Are we sleeping in your bed tonight?’ Shurui asked her eyes wide with excitement.

‘Why not?’ Toshiro chuckled as the family made their way down stairs, Tensai held his arms out for Yukio and Toshiro handed him over.

Their bed was big enough, Yukio had insisted on getting a king size so the entire family would fit into the bed. They’ve never all slept in the bed together before because usually it was just when one of the kids were ill or had a bad dream that they’d come into the bed with them. It never happened to all the children together. Shurui was the first one onto the bed when they walked into the room and she instantly took the centre of it. Yukio took Tensai over to his side of the bed which was closest to the bathroom and Koiyu joined Toshiro on his side of the bed. The kids curled up in the centre and Toshiro diverted their attention long enough for Yukio to put on a pair of boxers and a t shirt to cover himself up, then he discarded the towel and crawled into bed. Koiyu was asleep instantly and Shurui soon after. Tensai drifted in and out as Yukio stroked his hair lovingly until he finally fell asleep. It was the big family they’d always wanted and the three kids just looked adorable all cuddled up together on the bed.

‘Literally my favourite people in the world all in one bed,’ Yukio chuckled softly settling down next to Tensai and trying not to disturb him too much. ‘I couldn’t be happier.’

‘Me either,’ Toshiro settled down after he flicked off the light and the TV with a flourish of the remote control. He could hear the children’s soft breathing and soon Yukios joined them as they all dozed into a sound sleep. He knew that if someone ever asked him to ‘visit his happy place’ this is exactly where he’d be. Except that Tensai would be feeling good and maybe the room would be a little cooler. Other than that he literally wouldn’t change any of this for the world.


End file.
